


Life is Strange: Partners in Time

by AuraField



Series: Life is Strange [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Eventual Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-06-30 10:01:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15749433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuraField/pseuds/AuraField
Summary: (Cross-Posted from my ff.net account) What if Maxine Caulfield never existed? What if someone else got time powers? What if someone else changed history? This is the story of how Jason 'Jace' Wolfe got his powers and what happens when he saves his childhood friend from getting killed. (AU)





	1. Chrysalis – Part 1

_"Ngh..."_

_I woke up on the cold wet ground. I looked at my surroundings. It was raining pretty hard._ Where... am I? _I thought, looking around with my blood red eyes._ Wh... What's happening? _I could see and hear the leaves in the trees shaking wildly. I heard loud rumbling. I finally realized that I was trapped in a storm. "What the...?" I muttered as I stood up, wondering how I got here. I saw a bright light. I had to cover my eyes because it was so damn bright. It took about a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light, but when they saw, I realized what I was looking at was the light. "Ah... the lighthouse... I'll be safe in there!" I said to myself, slowly walking to the lighthouse. Ahead, I saw the biggest tornado I have ever seen. "Jesus Christ..." I looked to my left. I looked at the map to my town, but most of it was covered by a ripped banner that said "Blackwell - 1910." I heard a loud rumble, causing me to flinch. I almost fell down._ No. No wasting time. I need to get to the lighthouse... _I walked closer and closer to the lighthouse. I took another look at the huge ass tornado. A large piece of rubble came and hit the lighthouse. A broken part of the lighthouse came falling toward me. "Shit... shit!" I swore as the broken lighthouse piece fell down on me._

 _Ah!_ I woke up in my classroom. I quickly looked around. _That was... what the hell was that? ... It... It felt so freakin' real..._ I thought as my photography teacher, Mark Jefferson, explained something about Alfred Hitchcock. _Okay, okay... I'm fine... I'm just in class... calm down, Jace..._ I thought, running my hand through my neatly combed black hair and feeling the small spiky part of my hair sticking out to the side. Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jason Wolfe. But I prefer to be called Jace. I'm an 18 year old photography student at Blackwell Academy. You see, I've yearned to be a famous photographer, just like Mr. Jefferson.

"These pieces of time can frame us in our glory and our sorrow; from light to shadow; from color to chiaroscuro..." Mr. Jefferson said. As he was saying this, a girl threw a balled up piece of paper at a dirty blonde-haired girl's face, causing said girl to flinch and cover her face with her hand. That dirty blonde-haired girl is one of my closest friends, Kate Marsh. She's one of the sweetest people I've ever know. But, recently, she's being harassed over a viral video of her at a party, kissing random strangers. There's no way Kate would do that. There's just no way...

As Mr. Jefferson kept talking, the phone of the blonde-haired Victoria Chase, the Queen Bitch of Blackwell, rang. At least she had the decency to put it on silent. I shook my head slightly, focusing back on my "dream."

 _Okay, I know for a fact that I didn't fall asleep, and that didn't feel like a dream at all. Hmm..._ I thought as the Queen Bitch answered Mr. Jefferson's question. I looked at my desk to see my papers, journal, camera, pencil case, and my pictures. I looked at one in particular: a picture of the back of my head. I was facing toward the many photos on my wall. _Look at this shit. I can't show this to Mr. Jefferson. *sigh*_ As I looked at my photo, I heard Mr. Jefferson say, "Seriously though, I could frame any one of you in a dark corner, and capture you in a moment of desperation."

As Mr. Jefferson kept explaining, I got an idea. _Alright. Selfie time._ I very slowly grabbed my camera, I slowly brought it under the table so that no one saw it, and took a quick picture of myself. What I didn't count on was Mr. Jefferson busting me.

"I believe Jace has taken what you kids call a "selfie"... A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition..."

 _Damn. Busted._ I thought, putting my camera back.

"... And Jace has a gift." That got my attention. Mr. Jefferson began explaining more about self-portraits. Then he looked at me. "Now, Jace, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?

...Crap. I don't know this. "W-Well... I did know, but-"

"You either know this or you don't, Jace!" Well, that made me flinch. Victoria answered Mr. Jefferson's question by saying that it was Louis Daguerre, who was a French painter, as she also said that he created daguerreotypes. Mr. Jefferson congratulated Victoria as she smirks at me. I merely rolled my eyes. After Mr. Jefferson explained the Daguerreian Process, the bell rang.

"Alright. Students, don't forget to submit a photo in the Everyday Heroes contest. I'll fly out with the winner to San Francisco where you'll be honored and celebrated by the art world. Remember, this could kickstart a career in photography. Oh, and yes, Jace, I can see you pretending not to see me." Mr. Jefferson said as the students began to leave the class.

 _Damn it._ I thought as I got up. I saw Kate with her hands on her hand. I walked toward her. "Hey Kate."

Kate looked up at me and smiled. "Oh, hi Jace."

"You've been... quiet today."

"Just... thinking..." Kate said.

"Same here. So, wanna grab a cup of tea and talk?" I asked.

"Sorry, not today. I have a lot of homework today. Thanks for the offer, though." Kate answered.

"No problem. How about we hang out later?"

"Sure. I'd love to." Kate smiled.

"I know you have a lot on your mind, so I'll let you be. See you later, Kate"

"See you later, Jace." Kate said. I could've sworn I saw the slightest tint of red on her cheeks when she looked at me... Nah, I must be imagining things. I looked at the paper ball and picked it up. I opened it up. It said, **"Dear Kate, we love your porn video. XOXO Blackwell Academy."**

 _Ugh... people can be such assholes these days. Now I wish I hadn't read this..._ I crumbled up the paper and threw it in the trash. I took a quick look at Kate's drawing. It was a noose on a tree. _Shit... Kate, I seriously hope you don't do anything drastic..._ I thought worriedly. I walked toward Mr. Jefferson. Victoria was talking with him, bending over. Damn... Victoria's crush is so obvious, I actually feel bad. "Mr. Jefferson, may I talk to you for a second?"

"Hey, excuse you, Jace." Victoria said, her tone full of spite.

"No, excuse us, Victoria." Mr. Jefferson said.

 _Ha! Take that, bitch._ I thought, smirking slightly.

"Anyway. Jace, there is no way I would let one of the future stars of photography avoid handing in their picture." Mr. Jefferson told me.

"Do I have to? I just don't think it's that important..."

"Jace, you're better at photography than lying... Look, I know it's boring to hear an old dude lecture you, but the world won't wait for you to play catch-up. You're young, you have all the time in the world, blah blah blah, right? But, like I said earlier, you have a gift, a fever to take images, the ability to frame the world the way you see it. You just need the courage to share that gift. That's exactly what separates the artist from the amateur. Do you understand, Jace?"

"... Yes, Mr. Jefferson." I said.

"Good. Hope you have a nice day, Jace."

"Thank you." I said, leaving the classroom. The instant I did, the chattering of many students filled my ears. I sighed softly. _Welcome to the real world..._ I looked at all of the students. I decided that I need some time in the bathroom, so I put my earphones and began heading to the Men's Bathroom while listening to my music and drowning out the talking students, my hands in the pockets of my black jeans. As I was walking, I took a look at one of the many missing person posters. Apparently, the missing person was a 19 year old girl named Rachel Amber, who went missing on Monday, April 22, 2013. These posters are popping up everywhere. I wonder who's posting them...

I shook my head, deciding to stop reading the poster and head to the bathroom. I went into the bathroom. Empty. Good. I stopped my music, took out my earphones and put them back in my bag. The picture I criticized earlier fell out. I picked it up and remembered Mr. Jefferson's words earlier. _Perhaps... I could enter it into the contest?_ I thought about it a little more. _...You know what? Fuck it._ I ripped the photo and threw it to the ground. I turned the faucet on and washed my face. As I wiped my face, I saw a beautiful blue butterfly. It landed on the rim of a bucket. "Huh... that's... a really pretty butterfly." I quickly took out my camera. There's no way I'm missing this shot. I readied my camera and took a picture of the butterfly. The photo came out and I looked at it. It looked great. Maybe I should enter this picture into the contest... As the butterfly flew away, I heard the door open. Since I was at the end of the bathroom and behind all of the stalls, I peeked from the wall. The person who came in was Nathan Prescott, or as I like to call him, Nathan Prickscott. He seemed panicked. He looked around a bit, then leaned toward the faucets.

"It's cool, Nathan... Don't stress... You're okay, bro. Just count to three..." Nathan said, panting heavily. "Don't be scared... You fucking own this school... If I wanted, I could blow it up... You're the boss..." After he said that, the door opened again. This time, it was a girl with blue eyes, blue hair and a dark blue beanie, as well as a black jacket that slightly resembled my white jacket, a white shirt with a skull on it, blue jeans, black boots, and a necklace with three bullets. Nathan didn't even look at her. "So what do you want?"

"Hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness." The girl said, looking at each stall.

"I have nothing for you." The brown-haired boy replied in a dark tone.

"Bullshit. You got hella cash."

"That's my family, dumbass. Not me." Nathan corrected.

"Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid. I know you've been pumping drugs and shit to kids 'round here." The bluenette got all up into Nathan's face, not giving a damn about his personal space. "I bet your family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now..."

"Leave them out of this, bitch!" Nathan said in a pissed off tone. The girl pushed Nathan.

"I can tell everyone that Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself-" The girl started, but then Nathan brought out a gun.

"You don't know who the fuck I am, or who you're messing around with!" Nathan exclaimed, pointing the gun right at her.

The girl's expression quickly turned fearful and, believe me, I don't blame her. Someone having a gun and pointing it right at you would be terrifying as hell. "Wh-Where'd you get that? What are you doing? C-Come on, put that thing down!" She begged as Nathan pinned her to the wall, the girl trying to push his gun-holding hand away.

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm so SICK of people trying to FUCKING CONTROL ME!"

"You're gonna get into hella more trouble for this than drugs!" The bluenette said, struggling to break free from Nathan's grasp.

"Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, now would they!?" Nathan yelled.

"Get that gun away from me, you PSYCHO!" She shouted as she pushed Nathan away. Unfortunately, Nathan fired, shooting the girl right in her stomach.

 _NO!_ I reached out with my hand. Suddenly, everything around me slowed down. The girl began falling to the ground slowly. Nathan dropped the gun and, of course, the gun fell slowly. _Wh... What the...?_ Then, suddenly...

Everything rewound.


	2. Chrysalis – Part 2

I found myself back in Mr. Jefferson's class. _Huh? What?_ I looked around. _I'm... back here? No, that's not possible..._ I thought. I heard Mr. Jefferson explain Alfred Hitchcock, which I already heard before. _Okay, let's try this to see if the same thing happens._ I grabbed my camera, hid it, and took a picture of myself.

"I believe Jace has taken what you kids call a "selfie"... A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition..."

 _Okay, I heard him say that already._ A girl threw a balled up piece of paper at Kate's face. _I already saw that happen... if Victoria's phone rings right now, then it means that, somehow, I traveled back here._ Then, right on cue, Victoria's phone rang. Yep. It's confirmed. But... how? I moved my arm and I accidentally hit my camera, causing it to drop to the ground and break. _Shit! ...Okay, let's see... maybe I can somehow go back and stop myself from dropping my camera? Okay, um... how do I do this?_ I brought my hand foward, and time rewinds to before I broke the camera. Okay, it's official; I have time rewinding powers. Needless to say, I was blown away. _Holy shit... I have time powers... this... is fucking insane..._ I shook my head. _Alright, enough being blown away. I have to find a way to leave class so that I can save that girl..._

"Now, Jace, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?"

 _Think of an excuse, think of an excuse..._ "Um, Mr. Jefferson, I-I don't feel very good. May I be excused?"

Mr. Jefferson chuckled. "Nice try, Jace, but you're not going to get away that easily. We can talk more after class."

 _I can't stay after class, damn it! I have to save that girl!_ After hearing Victoria answer the question, an idea popped up in my head. _Hmm... maybe I could give him the answer that he wants..._ I brought my hand forward and rewound to when Mr. Jefferson asked me the question.

"Now, Jace, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?"

I answered, "The Daguerreian Process. It was invented by a French painter named Louis Daguerre around 1830."

"Correct. Great work, Jace." Mr. Jefferson congratulated me. Victoria glared at me. I just smirked at her. After Mr. Jefferson explained more about the Daguerreian Process, the bell rang. Mr. Jefferson reminded everyone of the Everyday Heroes contest, as well as saying he noticed me pretending not to look at him. I quickly put my stuff in my bag and began to quickly walk to the door. _Come on, I need to get to save her!_

"Don't even think about leaving until we talk about your entry, Jace." Mr. Jefferson told me.

 _Damn it!_ I turned around and walked toward him.

"Jace, there is no way I would let one of the future stars of photography avoid handing in their picture."

"I know, I just... don't think I have the right picture..." I answered.

"Given your selfie output, I'm sure you have a millions pics by now."

"I don't think I have enough time to find the right one..." I said.

"Look, don't wait too long. John Lennon once said that "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." You can go now."

"Thank you, Mr. Jefferson." I said. I quickly left the classroom and head to the bathroom. _Okay... I ended up... over there._ I thought, going to the wall beside the stalls. _And I... took a picture of the butterfly._ I saw the butterfly land on the rim of the bucket and I quickly took a picture of it. Right at that moment, Nathan came in.

"It's cool, Nathan... Don't stress... You're okay, bro. Just count to three... Don't be scared... You fucking own this school... If I wanted, I could blow it up... You're the boss..." The bluenette then came in. "So what do you want?"

"Hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness." She looked at each stall.

"I have nothing for you."

"Bullshit. You got hella cash."

"That's my family, dumbass. Not me."

"Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid. I know you've been pumping drugs and shit to kids 'round here. I bet your family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now..."

"Leave them out of this, bitch!" Nathan said. The girl pushed him.

"I can tell everyone that Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself-"

Nathan brought out his gun. "You don't know who the fuck I am, or who you're messing around with!" Nathan exclaimed.

 _What do I do, what do I do!?_ I looked at the fire alarm. _No. Don't be stealthy, Jace. Face the situation head-on. I just need to distract Nathan... but how?_ I looked at my camera... and something sparked in my brain. _That's it._ I quickly peeked at the two. The gun was visible from this angle.

"You're gonna get into hella more trouble for this than drugs!" The bluenette struggled

"Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, now would they!?"

***FLASH***

They both paused their actions. Nathan slowly turned his head. He saw me with my camera, the photo I took coming out. "Jace Wolfe..." He turned around. "... You are a FUCKING DEAD MAN!"

"Jace?" The girl asked. Nathan ran at me and tried to hit me with his gun, but I dodged, grabbing him by the arm and shirt and throwing Nathan to the wall, causing him to drop his gun.

"Be careful, Jace!" The girl yelled. I looked at her. She seemed... familiar, now that I got a closer look at her. Her face... her blue eyes...

Suddenly, it hit me like a truck.

"Chloe!?" I couldn't believe it; it was my childhood friend, Chloe Price.

Unfortunately, Nathan used my distraction to his advantage and whacked me on the side of my head with his gun. I fell down on one knee. I felt blood stream down the side of my head.

"Jace!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Chloe, run!" I yelled.

"B-But-"

"I can handle him!" I said as I dodged an attack from Nathan. "Just go!" Chloe nodded and left the bathroom. Nathan tackled me to the ground and punched me in the eye, "Agh!" I shouted, covering my eye. Nathan threw another punch, but I dodged. I got a quick look at the mirror and I saw that I had a black eye. He pinned me to the wall and pointed the gun at me. "Let me go, you bastard!"

"No! I won't let go until you get rid of that damn photo!" Nathan yelled.

"Get the fuck off me!" I pushed him away... and Nathan shot me in my left shoulder. I screamed in pain as I fell down on one knee, holding my shoulder.

Nathan's eyes widened. "O-Oh shit! Are you okay?" At that moment, Principal Ray Wells came in.

"What is going on he-" Principal Wells saw Nathan holding a gun. "Nathan Prescott!?"

"P-Principal Wells, I swear, this isn't what it looks lik-"

"Save it! You're coming with me!" Principal Wells grabbed Nathan by the arm. Principal Wells got out his phone and called the nurse, An-Marie Barenchi. "Nurse Barenchi, a student in the Men's Bathroom is severely injured. He will be on his way immediately." Principal Wells ended the call and looked at me. "Best be heading to the nurse."

 _Don't have to tell me twice._ "Thank you, Principal Wells." I quickly ran to the nurse's office. Behind me, I heard Nathan yell, "You'll rue this day! YOU'LL FUCKING RUE THIS DAY!"

I went into the nurse's office. But, by then, I had lost a lot of blood. My vision slowly darkened as I fainted. Before I fainted, I heard an "Oh my god!" from Nurse Barenchi.

* * *

I didn't know how long I was passed out, but I slowly woke up in the nurse's office. I sat up, rubbing my head with my right hand. I felt a bandage wrapped around my head. I saw that my bag was next to me. I tried to move my left arm, but I felt a sharp pain on my left shoulder. I grimaced, grabbing my shoulder.

"Please be careful."

I turned. "Kate?"

"Hey Jace." Kate said. "How are you feeling?"

I was silent for a minute. "...I feel like shit."

"Understandable." Kate shrugged.

"Hey, how long was I out?" I asked.

"Three hours. I was really worried about you. The moment I heard about what happened, I instantly came here. I waited for you to wake up." Kate said as she hugged me. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Heh. C'mon, Kate. Of course I'd be fine. I can totally take a bullet to the shoulder." I assured her.

She smiled as the hug ended. "Of course you would. Also, I should mention that the bathroom incident got Nathan expelled."

_Good riddance._

"And my viral video? Everyone's too focused on the bathroom incident to even think about it."

"That's great!" I said happily. I saw Kate frown again, though.

"But, when it eventually blows over, everyone will just go back to watching the video and making fun of me..."

I felt bad for her. She doesn't deserve to be bullied like that. "Kate, I know for a fact that you wouldn't make out with random strangers. Were you drunk or something?"

"No. I only took a few sips of wine." Kate said. "But, I think I was drugged."

"Drugged? By who?" I asked.

"I'm... not sure. But, I have a feeling that it was Nathan."

"Nathan? ...Well, I wouldn't be surprised, but... Kate, tell me what happened."

"Well, during the party, I needed to go to a hospital. Nathan promised me he could get me to the hospital."

"But he didn't, did he?"

Kate nods. "That's right. I... think he drugged me... I don't remember anything else, though, but I felt... gross when I woke up outside of my dorm room." Kate explained.

"Then that proves it. Nathan drugged you." I said.

"But, if I go to the police, they won't believe me. What do I do?" She asked. She really wants people to forget about the video, but there's no way... unless...

"...Hey. Victoria was the one who published the video, correct?"

"Yeah. She even made a website..."

"Okay. Is Victoria busy?" I asked.

"Well, she's going to go shopping with her friends in an hour. Why?" Kate asked.

"I have a plan; I'm gonna sneak in there and take down that video and website for good. But, boys aren't allowed in the girl's dormitories..."

"Oh, I know! I'll be outside, keeping watch, and when someone tries to come in, I will try and distract them." Kate said.

"Thank you, Kate. Do you know when I get out?"

"The nurse told me four hours when I got here, so... about an hour."

"Good. That's all I needed to hear."

* * *

An hour later, after I got out of the nurse's office, I saw Kate outside of the dormitories. "Ready?" Kate asked. I nodded. "Good. I'll text you all the things you need to know."

"Alright." I said. Kate looked in the halls.

"It's empty. Come on, go." Kate urged. I quickly went in. I walked through the empty hall. I felt my phone vibrate. I got out my phone and saw Kate's text.

"Victoria's room number is 221." was what the text said. _Okay... there it is_. I thought, seeing Room 221. I saw that she left the door open. I couldn't help but facepalm. I slowly opened the door and closed it. I found her computer. _Sweet!_ I opened up the laptop. As I did that, I got another text.

"The website is called 'www. katesvid .com.'" was the text. I typed in 'www. katesvid .com' and pressed enter. I got into the website, and took down the video. _Great! Now, I just need to take down the website and we're all set._ After a few minutes, I managed to take down the website. _Yes! Operation: Take Down The Video and Website complete!_ I thought as I quickly sneak out Victoria's room. As I did so, I texted,  "Took down the video and website." The response was, "THANK YOU SO MUCH! :)" I smiled. I got out of the dormitories and went to the parking lot with Kate.

"You did it, Jace! You did it!" Kate hugged me tightly. "Thank you so much..."

"Hey, it's no problem. I couldn't have done it without you." I smiled.

"No one will harass me about that video ever again. I can't thank you enough." Kate ended the hug. I was so glad to see Kate happy again.

"Jace. Motherfucking. Wolfe."

Of course, the moment didn't last. I turned around and saw Nathan, his face full of relentless rage. "...May I help you?"

"YOU! Because of you, I got expelled! God, what are my parents gonna think? What are they gonna DO!?" Nathan panicked.

"Nathan, calm dow-" Nathan grabbed me by the throat.

"Don't tell me to calm down, you son of a bitch! This is your fault! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Nathan screamed.

"Let him go, Nathan!" Kate yelled, trying to pull Nathan away. Nathan hit her, causing Kate to fall down. Angered, I punched Nathan in the face. Nathan glared and kicked me in the leg, causing me to fall down. "Jace!" Kate yelled. Nathan grabbed me by the shirt.

"You... When I'm done with you, you're gonna regret getting me expelled." Nathan was ready to throw a punch. But a rusty truck hit Nathan, sending him to the ground. "Agh... my fucking hip...!"

I turned and saw that Chloe was driving the truck. "Chloe!"

"Get in here, now!" Chloe yelled. Not wanting to waste a second, I quickly got into the truck.

"Get the fuck out of there right now!" Nathan yelled, kicking the truck. Chloe quickly drove away. "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" I saw Kate running to her dorm. At least she was safe.

I sighed in relief. "Holy shit... thanks for saving my ass, Chloe."

"No problem. Thanks for saving me earlier, Jace."

"You're welcome. Man, I'm so happy to see you, Chloe."

"Likewise." Chloe said. "Are... Are you okay? I was worried you wouldn't make it out alive in the bathroom."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Sure, I got a black eye and I got shot in the shoulder, but my injuries were treated by the school nurse, so I should be fine."

Chloe sighed in relief. "That's good to hear." A small silence filled the truck. "So... I'm guessing Seattle sucked hard?"

"Not really. There were a lot of good people there and there were a lot of cool places to take pictures of. But... it just wasn't for me."

Chloe chuckled. "I see. After five years, you're still Jace Wolfe. So, I'm guessing that freak attacked you because of that bathroom incident?"

"You're correct. The principal caught him with the gun and he got expelled."

"Dude, nice!" Chloe and I high-fived. "You've been here for a month and you're already causing trouble!"

"I thought it would be quiet here. It feels weird being back in Arcadia Bay..."

"And here I thought you would fit in with the hipsters in Seattle."

"Looks who's talking. You would be on the cover of Hipsters . com." I retorted.

"At least you're still a smartass."

"Hey, that's why I'm here." I chuckled.

"Oh please. You came back here for Blackwell Academy." Chloe told me.

"That's not the only reason I came back. The biggest reason I came back here is you. I really missed you."

Chloe got a bit upset. "If you really missed me, then you should have called. Five years later, and not even a fucking text."

"I'm sorry. Things got busy at Seattle. I totally would've contacted you if I wasn't so busy."

"I would forgive you, if not for the fact that you were here for a month and you still didn't call me!" Chloe exclaimed in an upset tone.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to get settled in... I know how hard it must have been for you these past five years." I said.

"How? You weren't even there..." Chloe said. I sighed. I felt like such an asshole. I looked in my bag and took out my camera. It was broken. "Are you shitting me...?"

"What?"

"My camera's broken..." I sighed.

"My step-prick has some tools in his garage."

"I need tiny, specific tools..."

"Don't worry, he has those too. And he actually is a tiny tool." I had to stifle a laugh. Chloe smiled. "It's good to have you back, Jace."

"It's good to be back... and I'm happy that you're here with me." I said as Chloe drove to her home.


	3. Chrysalis – Part 3

Chloe and I got to her home. We went upstairs and got inside Chloe's room. Chloe closed the door and lied down on her bed.

"Hey, Jace, put on some music while I medicate, would ya?" Chloe asked as she pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and began smoking.

"Alright." I looked at the music player. "Hey, where's your CD?"

"In the box under my bed." Chloe replied. I nodded and looked under her bed. I found the box and pulled it out. I opened the box and saw a CD. "Found it." I grabbed the CD. As I did that, though, I saw a folded up photo. Deciding to investigate, I held the photo. _Wait... isn't that the missing girl I saw on the missing person poster earlier today? What was her name again... Rachel Amber?_ I turned my head to look at Chloe's desk. There were a lot of those missing person posters. Did Chloe make them? I wondered. I opened up the photo and I saw Chloe... flipping off the camera. _...Of course_.

Chloe quickly noticed me looking at the photo and sat up. "Hey, gimme that!" She grabbed the photo.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to be nosy!" I apologized, sitting next to her. "Obviously, she was a good friend..."

"That's putting it mildly. After my dad died and you left, I felt abandoned. Then, I met Rachel and everything was good... she was my angel..."

"Wait... so those missing person posters, those were-"

"Mine? Yes. I made them. I posted them all over Blackwell. She's been missing for 6 months. I miss her... can... can you please put on some music?" Chloe asked, lying back down on the bed after putting away the photo.

"Chloe, are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"I'm awesome. Just put on some music while I blaze." Chloe said, smoking her cigar. I walked toward the music player, opened up the disk case and put in the CD. Relaxing music began to play.

"So... what did you hear?" Chloe asked me.

"Huh?"

"What did you hear back in the bathroom?"

"Oh, um... just a little bit."

"Bullshit. There's no way you didn't hear every single vowel." Chloe called me out.

Damn it. She saw right through me. "Okay, fine. I heard about drugs and money. But that's it, I swear."

"Did you tell anyone that I was there?" The punk girl asked.

I shook my head.

"Good. Also... don't trust Wells. That drunk bastard only cares about money for his school."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Anyway, shouldn't you be heading to the garage to, you know, fix your camera 'n' shit?" Chloe reminded me.

My eyes lit up. "Oh, right."

"See ya in a bit, Jace." Chloe said as I left the room and went to the garage. I looked around the garage and looked at the TV. I turned it on and saw many rooms. _What the...? Is this house being... monitored everywhere? Jeez, who would be paranoid enough to do that?_ I looked and saw the tools on top of a washing machine. "Great! Now, how do I get them down...?" I muttered. I saw a big square piece of cardboard. An idea popped into my head. I pushed the cardboard piece under the table and turned on the washing machine. This caused the toolbox to shake and eventually fall down under the table. I pulled the cardboard piece out and the toolbox was on it. "Yes!" I said, getting the toolbox. As I was about to leave, I saw some files on the cupboard. _...Eh, why the fuck not?_ I grabbed the files and took a look inside. It turns out that there were pictures of Kate in it. _The hell? What kind of creep would stalk Kate like this?_ I put them away and left the garage. I got back into Chloe's room. I noticed that she had put her black jacket away.

"You found the tools?" Chloe asked me.

"Yep."

"Sweet. You can work on your camera on my desk." Chloe said. I smile and I sat down on the chair. I began working on fixing my camera. 50 minutes later, it wasn't going well. "Come on... damn it! Okay, I can fix this. ... Son of a bitch!"

Chloe chuckled. "Short temper. Just like when we were kids."

"I can't fix this camera..." I sighed sadly. Chloe got up and rummaged through her drawers. "What are you doing?"

"I know it was your birthday a few months ago..." Chloe said. She pulled out a camera. I knew what that camera was. It was the camera that Chloe's father, William, had before he died. "So... I'm giving you this." Chloe gave me the camera.

"Chloe... you remembered my birthday. That's so sweet..." I thanked Chloe, sincerely touched. "... But I can't take this."

"Please, I insist. Besides, dad would be pissed if I didn't use it, and I know it would be used awesomely..."

I smiled softly. "Very well then. I'll take it." I said, taking the camera. Chloe saw the butterfly photo and grabbed it.

"I recognize this... I'm guessing you took this earlier in the bathroom?" Chloe asked. I nodded. "Alright. Is it fine if I keep this? You know, as a sign of our reunion?"

"Of course you can keep it." I smiled.

"Awesome! Thanks." Chloe said, putting the photo in her pocket. Chloe then went to the music player and put on a loud song. "Now that all the mushy shit is out of the way, I feel like stage-diving. Let's thrash this place!"

"You're crazy..." I chuckled.

"Yep yep, I'm fuckin' insane in the brain! Let's dance, boy!" Chloe grabbed my arms. "C'mon, spin me around!"

"I-I don't think I can-"

"C'mon, man! Spin me!" I sighed, grabbed Chloe's hand and spun her around. "Whoo-hoo-hoo! Hell yeah!" Chloe jumped onto her bed and began dancing while smoking her cigar. I couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, Jace, take a picture!"

"Eh, why the hell not?" I laughed and took out the camera Chloe gave me, taking a picture of the dancing Chloe.

"C'mon, dance with me! This song hella rules!" Chloe said. I chuckle as I slowly dance. Soon, we both heard a voice.

"Chloe, are you up there?"

Chloe quickly stopped dancing and looked at me. "Yo, turn it off!" She whispered. I turned the music player off.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop blasting that punk shit!?" That voice... it sounded familiar...

"The music's not even on!" Chloe yelled.

"I'm... guessing that's the step-prick you talked about earlier?" I asked.

"Yep." Chloe sighed.

"I'm coming up there, we need to talk!"

Chloe got up and quickly locked the door. "Dude, hide."

"What?"

"He hates it when I bring people over. Hide, now." There was a knock on the door.

"Chloe, open this door, please." The familiar voice said.

I looked around for a place to hide. I looked at the closet and opened it. Unfortunately, the lamp fell and knocked over some boxes on top, blocking me from coming in. "Are you fuckin' kidding me?" I muttered. I rewound time back to before I opened the closet. After moving the lamp, I opened the closet and hid in there, sitting down to make myself less noticeable. Chloe unlocked the door and, to my shock, the Blackwell security guard came in. Wait... is that... David Madsen? He's Chloe's stepdad!? ... Yeesh. No wonder Chloe hates him...

"What's going on in here?" David asked.

"Jeez, I'm just trying on clothes. You're so frickin' paranoid." Chloe retorted.

"Yeah, combat will do that to you." David said. He walked up to Chloe's desk. "One of my guns is missing. Did you take it?"

"Oh god, I didn't take your stupid gun. You know I believe in gun control?"

"Wait... is that grass?" David picked up the cigar Chloe had. "Have you been toking it up in here again!?"

"Oh yeah, guns, weed... you're tripping balls." Chloe exclaimed.

"I'm getting sick of your disrespect. Tell me the truth, now!" David shouted. I really wanted to step in and take the blame, but... Chloe wanted me to hide. I don't want to anger her. Plus, it would end up getting my Blackwell scholarship taken away.

"Stop treating me and my mom like we're your family platoon!" Chloe yelled.

"Leave Joyce out of this."

"I wish you'd leave Joyce! Like, now!" Chloe shouted. Then David something that made my blood boil; ... He backhanded Chloe in the face. I clenched my fists and sneered the moment it happened. Chloe placed her hand on her cheek and David had a regretful look on his face.

"I... Chloe, I'm sorry... I care about your mother, and... you just keep pushing me..."

"... Don't ever touch me again, asshole. If you do, I'll bring the cops in here so fast-"

"You're not that dumb, Chloe. ... Someday, you'll grow up." David sighed, leaving the room. Chloe sat down on her bed, her hand still on her cheek. I opened the closet and came out.

"Chloe... I'm so sorry, I should've-" I started.

"No, don't be sorry. He would've been a bigger dick if he saw you in here..." Chloe told me.

"I find that hard to believe..."

"Anyway... let's sneak out the window. There's one cool place we can go to in this hickhole..." Chloe said, sneaking out through the window. I followed her. We went to the cliff, where the lighthouse was.

Odd... I haven't been here in such a long time, yet it feels like I just got back here... Wait. isn't this... the same path I was on during my nightmare today...? I slowly went through the path and to the cliff. Chloe was there, sitting on the bench. I noticed a mark on her cheek. "Are... you sure you don't wanna be alone?"

"Sit down, if you want." Chloe said. I sat down. I noticed an upset tone in her voice.

"Are... you pissed at me?"

"What? No, I just... I wanted some back-up."

"I'm not as brave as you, Chloe. And David really is a step-dou- ... no. He's a step-dick."

"Heh. Nice one." Chloe chuckled. I got an idea. I knew how to cheer up Chloe.

"Nah, nah, that's not good enough. How about Captain Dickhead? Oh! Maybe even Officer Asshat!" Chloe was starting to giggle. My idea was working! "Wait! Sergeant Prickhead! Sir Ass-o-lot? Oh, oh! Ranger Douchebag!"

Now Chloe was giggling like a schoolgirl. "Stop! Please! I can't breathe!" Chloe giggled, holding her sides. I smiled. Soon, Chloe calmed down. "Oh man, I am SO using those nicknames!" After a few minutes, she frowned slightly. "Sorry you had to experience his douchebag personality firsthand."

"Has he always been like this?" I asked.

"Ever since my mom dragged him to our home... I never trusted him..."

"I never trusted him either. I even saw him hassle Kate Marsh one time."

"I know her. She's cool. Only he would bully her."

"He has this... weird agenda..."

"He has a lot of secret files. Dumbass still thinks he's gathering enemy intelligence." Chloe scoffed. "You got a look?"

I nodded. "Yeah. The bastard has creepy photos of Kate and other Blackwell students."

"He takes his job way too seriously. He still thinks he's at war or something. He has a total surveillance fetish. I worry there are spy cams in the house."

"Had a feeling you didn't know..."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked me.

"Chloe, your house is under surveillance. There are cameras all over the house. I saw it on a monitor in the garage."

Chloe growled. "I knew it. He's so hella fucking paranoid! ...I'll keep this a secret for now..."

"Ignorance is bliss, I guess..."

"No wonder I'm miserable. Everyone knows everybody's secrets!"

"...What's Nathan's secret?" I asked.

"He's an asshole who sells bad shit cut with laxative... and I know that he dosed me with a drug in his room." Chloe answered.

That got my attention. "What?"

"I met him in some bar that didn't card me. He was too rich for the place and too wasted. He kept flashing bills, too..."

"Tell me what happened. Now." I said with slight anger. "What did that fucker do?"

Chloe seemed a little taken aback at my anger, but she continued. "I thought he was so blazed that it would be an easy score."

"You needed cash that bad?"

Chloe nods. "Yes. I owe big time... I thought he'd have enough for me and Rachel if she showed up..."

"How much do you owe exactly?"

"Three grand. Plus interest." Chloe replied.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah. Before I could get a chunk of that from Nathan, he drugged my beer." Once again, I felt my blood boil. "I passed out on the floor. When I woke up, I saw him smiling, and he had a camera. Everything else was a blur. I tried to kick him in the balls and ended up breaking a lamp. Nathan freaked out, so I managed to get out through the door and haul ass... Jace, it was insane..."

"That son of a bitch...! Chloe, that's so fucked up!" I said in pure anger.

"Yeah, it is. I figured I would make him pay me to keep quiet. So, we met in the bathroom... and he brought a gun. If I knew he was that dangerous, I never would have come to the bathroom. Bringing that gun... that was Nathan's last mistake..."

"He's dangerous to everyone. Not just to you..."

"Good thing he was expelled. That fucker deserved it... but... enough about that. Let's talk about how you saved me. Seriously, that was badass."

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head, blushing. "Hey, come on, it was nothing..."

"Don't be so damn humble! It was totally badass! Seeing you after all these years feels like..."

"...Destiny?"

Chloe and I looked at each other. Blood red eyes met blue eyes. Soon, Chloe got up and walked toward the cliff. I got off the bench and stood next to her.

"If this is destiny... I hope we can find Rachel. I miss her, Jace." Chloe then got angry. "Arcadia Bay... it has taken everyone I've ever loved! I'd like to drop a bomb on this town and turn it to fucking glass!"

Suddenly, my head started to throb. "Ghh..." I placed my hands on my head and backed away. My head was throbbing like crazy and it hurt. Chloe noticed. "Jace?"

 _I looked up. I was back in the storm._ What!? This again? No... no! Why? Why does this keep happening to me!? _I looked around and saw a doe up ahead._ Huh? _I began to move up the path._ I have to... I have to find out if Chloe's still up there! _I quickly saw a boulder heading my way. I rewound time and quickly went through the path, the boulder not hitting me, thankfully. Then, a tree fell down, blocking the path. I rewound time and kept walking, the tree falling behind me. I kept following the doe. Soon, a bunch of tree trunks began rolling down. After reversing time, I moved away before the tree trunks rolled down. After that, I kept following the doe. Soon enough, I got to the cliff. I looked at the giant tornado._ No... it's back... _The huge piece of rubble hit the lighthouse and a huge chunk of the lighthouse and took down the tree trunk. I quickly walked through before the metal top of the lighthouse could slowly fall down on me. As I got close to the doe, it disappeared. Confused, I looked around. I couldn't find the doe anywhere. I saw a newspaper and grabbed it. I saw the date on it; October 11th, 2013._

_"What!? Isn't this Friday!? That's four days away!" I said. "Shit... that tornado... it's heading for the town..." Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder..._

I found myself back at the cliff with Chloe. I was panicked. "Oh my god, Chloe! You're here! I'm back! Oh shit, it's real... it's real..."

"What's real? What's going on? You totally blacked out..."

"I didn't black out! I had another vision... the town is going to get wiped out by a tornado..."

"Dude, dude, calm down. Oregon gets tornadoes every twenty years, you just zoned."

"No I didn't! I saw it, I felt the electricity in the air!"

"Jace, take a deep breath, okay?"

"Chloe, I'm not crazy. There's something else I have to tell you..." I said.

"Talk to me, Jace. What is it?" Chloe asked.

"I had the same vision earlier in class... after I came out of it, I... I found out I could reverse time..."

"Jace, are you high or something?"

"I'm not fucking high! How do you think I saved you in the bathroom?"

"By reversing time? Yeah, right, that totally makes sense." Chloe replied sarcastically.

"I saw you get shot, Chloe! I actually saw you get shot... I... I saw you die! I was able to go back and stop Nathan..."

"Okay, now I know that you're a guy with an huge imagination, but this isn't a video game or a story." Chloe said. "You don't have those powers, Jace."

"I don't know what I have, Chloe! But I have it... and... and I'm scared..." I felt something cold touch my cheek. "Wha...?" I looked up and saw snowflakes falling from the sky.

"The fuck? Snowflakes? It's like eighty degrees. How?" Chloe said.

"A climate change... or a storm is coming."

Chloe looked at me. "Jace..." I looked at her. "...start from the beginning. Tell me everything."


	4. Out of Time – Part 1

I groan as I woke up in my dorm room. I tried to move my left arm to rub my eyes, but I groaned as I felt a sharp pain on my shoulder. _Oh. Right. I forgot. Nathan fucked up my shoulder... and my face._ I sigh as I got off my ass and stretched, yawning. I was tired as hell. I was testing my newfound abilities last night, and it took a long time. I shook my head to get myself to wake up more as I walked to the bathroom to take a shower, taking my clean clothes with me. I walked into the men's bathroom and saw my good friend, Warren Graham, brushing his teeth. He saw me and smiled. "Morning, Jace."

"Mornin'." I said to him as I went to one of the sinks. I got out my toothpaste and toothbrush as I began to brush my teeth after putting the toothpaste on my toothbrush.

"How are you feeling today?" Warren asked.

I spat inside the sink and looked at him. "Tired as fuck."

"Stayed up late again?" Warren asked with a raised eyebrow.

I sigh. "Yeah..."

"I'm not surprised. You were always a bit of a rebel." Warren chuckled.

"You're not wrong, buddy." I smirk a bit. I was always proud of being a rebel.

"Have you heard?" The science geek suddenly asked.

"Heard? Heard what?" I asked him curiously.

"About Victoria. Did you know that the video and website she posted were deleted?"

I feigned surprise. "What? Someone did that?"

"Yeah. But everyone thinks Victoria deleted it, and they're giving her shit about it." Warren explained. "One of the girls even called her a softhearted pansy."

"Damn."

"Damn, indeed. But she's not letting it get to her. She may be a total bitch, but she's tough." Warren said.

"...Yeah..." Sometimes, I wondered about that... I put my toothbrush and toothpaste away. "Gotta go take a shower. Talk to you later." I said as I walked into one of the showers. I closed and locked the door to get some privacy as I stripped off my pajamas and hung them over the towel rack as I turned the shower on. I sigh in relaxation as the warm water hit my body. After an absolutely stressful day yesterday, a warm shower was just what I needed. Soon, I turned off the shower and dried myself off with the towel, and put on my clean clothes, taking my dirty pajamas and leaving the bathroom. I walked back into my room and tossed my pajamas into the laundry machine. I looked at my clock. _Hmm... I still have time to get breakfast._ As if on cue, I got a text from Chloe. I turned on my phone and looked at the text;

Hey, Jace Voorhees. Let's meet at the Two Whales Diner!

I chuckle as I texted back;

I was just gonna head there for breakfast. I'll meet you there, Chloe.

I put my phone back in my pocket as I left the dormitories and began heading to the bus. But then, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Jace..." A sad voice said. I looked... and saw that it was Victoria. Her eyes were puffy and there were wet streaks on her cheeks. Wait... are they... tear streaks? "Can I please talk with you? In private...?"

I was honestly a bit worried, so I nod. Victoria brought me to the back of the school. "Jace... Ever since my video and website were deleted, people keep thinking that it was me. But it wasn't me! I didn't delete them, and I don't know who deleted them! Everyone's been treating me like shit and I hate it! Please... help me..."

"..." I scoffed. "Me? Help you? After the shit you put Kate through!?"

"B-But-"

"Hell no! You deserve what you're getting. You know what they say; karma's a bitch!" Then Victoria did something that surprised me; she began to cry.

"*sob* Fine! Maybe I do deserve what I've gotten! I've treated Kate horribly! I'm sorry..." She sobbed. "I'll let people call me horrible names! I deserve it!"

Now, I felt like shit. "V-Victoria, wait-"

"Jace, just... leave me be..." Victoria walked away.

"..." _No... No, I don't like that. I don't like that at all._

I quickly rewound time to where Victoria pleaded me to help her. This time, I made sure to say something else. "Of course I'll help you."

"What? But... But I've treated Kate like shit! Why would you want to help me!?" Victoria asked me, shocked.

"Because no one deserves to be treated this way. That's why I'll help you."

Victoria smiled a little and hugged me." Thank you so much, Jace..."

I smiled as Victoria soon ended the hug. "I'll see you later, okay?" She said.

"Of course. See you later." I said as I walked to the bus, waving to Victoria as I did so. I walked inside the bus and sat in one of the seats. I sit back as the bus drove off.

* * *

The bus stopped at the Two Whales Diner. The door opened as I smiled. I got up and walked out of the bus, walking to the Two Whales Diner. I walked in and sniffed slightly. Yep. Just the same as I remembered it. I smiled.

"Jace Wolfe... It's great seeing you again."

I looked and smiled softly; it was Chloe's mom, Joyce Price. "It's great to see you two, Joyce." I went to sit down on one of the seats.

"How was Seattle?" Joyce asked me.

"It was okay, I guess. It really wasn't for me."

"That's a shame. I thought you would have liked it there. William would have liked it there..."

I sigh sadly. "Joyce, I'm so sorry about what happened to William. He was such a great guy... But, I just have one question." I looked at her. "Why David?"

"What do you mean, Jace?"

"Well, for starters, he slapped Chloe, he threatens students, he slapped Chloe, he treats students like crap, and did I mention that he slapped Chloe?"

Joyce sighs. "Jace, I understand that David is not the nicest person in the world, but he used to be a soldier. He's having trouble fitting in with society again. Chloe needs to understand that." As if on cue, the doors opened and out came Chloe. "Well, speak of the devil..."

"Hey, mom." Chloe looked around. "Sergeant Pepper ain't around here, is he?" She quipped.

Joyce rolled her eyes. "Call him that again and you will only get one piece of bacon. Oh, by the way..." Joyce looked at me. "What would you like, Jace?"

"I would like some waffles, please."

"Alright." Joyce walked away to the kitchen. Chloe sat down in front of me.

"So... show me." Chloe whispered to me.

"Huh?"

"Show me your powers. Prove to me that you have time rewinding powers. Tell me what's in my pockets." Chloe dug into her pockets and pulled out a panda keychain, a box with 7 cigarettes, 86 cents, and a parking ticket. "Memorize these."

"Very well then." I said. After memorizing the items, I took a deep breath and rewound time.

"Show me your powers. Prove to me that you have time rewinding powers. Tell me what's in my pockets." Chloe said.

"Alright." I smirk. "You have a keychain."

"What does it look like?"

"A cute panda."

"Alright. Next?"

"You have some money." I said.

"Clearly, I'm rich as fuck." Chloe snarked. "How much?"

"86 cents."

"Okay. What else?" Chloe asked.

"A box of cigarettes."

"How many?"

"Seven."

"Next?"

"A parking ticket."

"What time did I get busted?" Chloe asked.

"10:34 AM." I said. "You can check your pockets now."

Chloe digs into her pockets and pulled out the exact items I described. Needless to say, her face was priceless. "... No... No way... No fucking way... You're... You're a time traveler..."

Oh, I could feel my ego skyrocketing. "You bet I am." Chloe put the items back in her pockets. When she did, Joyce walked to our table and gave us our breakfast. "Thanks, Joyce." I said as I ate my waffles.

"I still can't believe it... I'm speechless." Chloe said, looking at me. "You gotta do something else, something that will prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt."

I chuckled. "Alright." I looked at her with a cocky smirk. "I am going to tell you exactly what will happen in the next 30 seconds." I said.

"Okay! What's gonna happen?"

I saw Joyce walking with a tray of coffee cups in her hand. A trucker dropped his mug and Joyce scolds him. An officer says that he has to leave, then sees that his partner left him. Two people get into a fight and Joyce stops them. Finally, a cockroach goes into the jukebox, causing it to go wild. I grinned as I rewound time.

"Okay! What's gonna happen?"

I looked at her. "Well, first off, a trucker drops his mug and Joyce scolds him."

"Uh-huh..."

"Then an officer says that he has to leave and sees that his partner left him." I said.

"Go on..."

"Trevor and Justin get into a fight and Joyce stops him."

"And then...?"

"The jukebox goes wild as a cockroach crawls into it." After I said that, the exact incidents occur.

Chloe was completely flabbergasted. "Okay... this is so fucking insane. You're a real-life superhero!"

I felt myself blush. "C-Come on, I wouldn't go that far..."

"Don't sell yourself short, Jace." Chloe looks a bit and leans in. "Hey... Come with me." She got up as I finished my waffles.

"Huh? Why? Where are we going?" I asked her.

She looked at me with a smile. "We're going to my secret lair."


	5. Out of Time – Part 2

"Secret lair?" I asked Chloe.

"Yup. Come on, let's go before mom starts some more shit." Chloe urged.

"Okay, Yeesh..." I said as I stood up. Once I stood up, though, I felt my head throb and blood start to stream from my nose.

Chloe saw this and her eyes widened. "Whoa... You okay?"

"Too much blow... See what happens when we hook up again?" I said to her, touching the blood with two fingers.

"Well, you better make sure this doesn't happen again, because we're gonna have more fun with your powers..." Chloe said, walking out of the diner.

I sigh. _What does she have planned now...?_ I thought as I walked out of the diner with her. We walked into Chloe's truck.

Chloe handed me some tissues. "Here are some tissues."

I grabbed the tissues and wiped the blood away. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Suddenly, I heard my phone go off. I pulled out my phone and saw who was calling me. Victoria... I answered the call. "Hello?"

_"*sniffle* Hey Jace..."_

_Oh god... She doesn't sound any happier..._ "Hey. How's it going?"

_"Not very good... Courtney just called me a pussy..."_

"What? That's fucked... I'm so sorry that happened..." I said.

_"You don't need to be sorry... I know I deserve this. I treated Kate horribly... This is my karma..."_

"No, it's not. Don't listen to them. You're tough. You can get through this..."

A small silence took place, before I heard, _"Thank you, Jace... I'm glad to have met you."_

"It's no problem. Anything I can do to help."

_"I'm gonna end the call. See you later."_

"See you later..." I said, the call ending. I put my phone back in my pocket.

"What happened?" Chloe asked.

"Someone I know at Blackwell is going through a difficult time. She's being bullied..."

"Ugh, that sucks. Bullies are such assholes."

"You're tellin' me..." I sighed.

"You'll be able to cheer her up. Remember when we were younger and I was sad about my cat's death?" Chloe asked.

"You mean Bongo?" I asked.

"Yeah. I was devastated. But you somehow managed to cheer me up and pull me back up."

"Wasn't that the day you thanked me nonstop?"

Chloe chuckled. "Yep. So you'll definitely cheer her up."

I smiled a little. "Thanks, Chloe."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Chloe drove her truck up to a junkyard. "We're here."

"Sweet." Chloe and I got out of her truck and walked into the junkyard.

"Welcome to American Rust. My home away from hell." Chloe said.

"Raw and rough... Definitely suits you." I said. Chloe brought out a beer bottle and drank from it. She then offered the bottle to me.

"Want a sip?"

"Ugh..." Was my response.

Chloe giggled. "You're so cute. You haven't changed a bit. But anyway, let's move on to the next phase of the test."

"There's another phase?" I asked, exasperated. "I already proved my power to you! Twice!"

"Of course I believe you. I just want to try something fun with my supersized friend!"

"Supersized I may be, but we don't know for how long..." I stated.

"Which is why now's the time for some fun!" Chloe said. "Now can you go find five bottles? Pretty please?"

"..." After a few seconds of silence, I sighed. "Fine. But what are we even doing once I find the bottles?"

Chloe smirked and pulled out a gun.

I jumped back. "Wh-What the fuck!?"

"Behold, my new trusty gun, courtesy of step-dick." Chloe said.

"So you did take his gun..." I realized.

"Well, duh! You didn't think I actually believed in gun control, did you?"

"...Okay, you've got a point... But I have to ask, why didn't you bring that gun during your confrontation with Nathan?" I asked.

"I forgot." Chloe simply said.

"You forgot to bring a gun? During a confrontation with a guy who, you know, drugged you!?"

"Well..." I seemed to have stumped her, because she then said, "Just go find the damn bottles, smartass."

I rolled my eyes. "Aye aye, captain." I sarcastically quipped as I started to walk away to look for the bottles. "By the way, beer and guns? Nice combo."

"What can I say? I'm hella crazy."

I rolled my eyes once again as I began my search for five bottles. _Okay, if I were a bottle in a junkyard, where the hell would I be?_ I thought as I searched. After about a minute, I found the first bottle on an elevation near a yellow bus. I tried to reach up to grab it, but to no avail. "Damn... So close." I noticed a box near me. I grabbed the box, placed it in front of the elevation, stood on the box and grabbed the first bottle. _Sweet! One down, four more to go._

I searched again, soon going into the other side of the junkyard and finding the second bottle lying on top of a car wreck. I grabbed the bottle and continued my search for the next three bottles. Soon, I found the third bottle in a small room. Once I grabbed the bottle, I noticed something outside. A... doe? Curious, I walked out and saw the doe. _Now that is a pretty doe... I've gotta snap a picture of this._ I brought out my camera and took a picture of the doe. Once I did, it ran away. I got the picture and shook it a bit. What I saw in the picture, though, deeply disturbed me.

The doe wasn't in the picture, even thou I clearly took a picture of it. "Wh... What the fuck...?"

"Yo Jace!" I heard Chloe call out my name. "You doing okay?"

"Huh? ...O-Oh, yeah, I'm doing alright. I'm almost done. I just need two more bottles."

"Sweet! Meet me back here when you're done!"

"Okay!" I called out as I decided to put away the picture and forget about what the living hell just happened. I searched for the fourth bottle and, if I had to be honest, it was pretty damn difficult to find. I found it near a campfire. _Seriously, how the fuck was anyone supposed to find that so easily!? *sigh* Oh well, I have one more bottle to go, so I shouldn't be complaining._ I thought as I soon found the fifth and final bottle on a shipwreck. _Okay, how am I gonna get that bottle...?_ I saw a plank nearby. _Perfect..._ I grabbed the plank and placed it on the edge of the shipwreck. "Awesome!" I carefully walked on the plank and onto the shipwreck, grabbing the bottle and walking on the plank again. _Alright, time to get back to Chloe._ I walked towards Chloe. "Here. I got the five bottles you needed."

"Nice. Just place them over there." A slightly tipsy Chloe gestured to a nearby plank that was resting on some junk. I placed the five bottles on the plank. Chloe drank the rest of the beer and placed the now empty bottle next to the five bottles. She brought out her gun and aimed. "Just tell me where to shoot."

"I need to see you shoot first." I said. Chloe shrugged and shot, hitting the left of the first bottle. I rewound. "Aim a bit more to the right." Once I said that, she fired, hitting the first bottle and breaking it.

"Boom!" Chloe exclaimed. "Time for bottle number two."

"Fire." I said. Chloe fired, hitting underneath the second bottle instead. I rewound again. "Aim slightly above." Chloe shot again, hitting the second bottle.

"Hella yes!" Chloe cheered.

"This is actually pretty fun." I admitted.

"Yeah! Now, let's pump up the volume and find me another target." Chloe said.

"Someone wants to get creative..." I chuckled. "Try that old plank."

"I hate old planks..." Chloe fired at the plank, causing it to fall down... but nothing happened to the bottles.

"Nope." I said, rewinding. I looked at an old wheel rim. "Try shooting that old wheel rim."

"Alright." Chloe fired once again, the bullet ricocheting off the rim and hitting the third bottle.

"Holy shit!" I said. "That was fucking cool!"

"Hella yes it was!" Chloe smirked. "But that's not enough. I want one more cool trick shot."

"Very well. Let's use that junker for a target." I suggested. I was really starting to get into this. "Hmm... Try aiming for that tire."

"Adios, tire..." Chloe shot a bullet into the tire. Once the bullet hit, the tire deflated, sending the junker into the last three bottles, crushing them, while almost crushing us. "Ubercool." Chloe and I fistbump. "I still can't believe it... My best friend is a superhero!"

I groan, feeling my head throb again. My nose began bleeding again. Chloe saw this and grew concerned. "Jace?"

"I... don't feel so super..." I fell down, Chloe catching me.

"JACE!"

* * *

_That tornado... That fucking tornado..._

_I saw it again... That goddamn tornado..._

_Why...? Why can't it just go away...?_

_Why was I burdened with this horrific vision...?_

_Seeing that tornado destroy the town I love..._

_How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?_

_I have to stop that tornado from coming..._

_I have to save the people I love..._

_The town I love..._

_If I can't do that..._

_Do I even deserve a happy life...?_

_Do I even deserve a life at all...?_

_Do I... even deserve **anything** , if I can't save Arcadia Bay...?_

_If I can't save Chloe...?_

_If I can't save Kate...?_

_If I..._

_If I..._

* * *

"Jace? Wake up, Jace!"

I groan, my eyes slowly opening. "C-Chloe...?"

"Oh thank god, you're okay!" Chloe said. "I was so worried... Are you feeling any better now?"

I slowly sat up. "A bit. Just give me a minute..." I slowly stood up.

"No, you shouldn't be standing-"

"Chloe, don't worry about me. I'm feeling better now, just give me a minute..."

"Okay, no more using your powers. At least, for a little bit." Chloe demanded.

"Fine, fine..." I said. _Since when did Chloe become so protective?_ I thought as I heard footsteps near us.

"Well, well, if isn't Bonnie and Clyde..."

I turned around and saw an older blonde man. "Go away, Frank." Chloe said.

"Oh, sorry, Chloe. Didn't mean to get in the way of your bonding." The man named Frank started. "I heard the gunshots and the breaking glass. It's cute that you're playing with guns. Just like me at your age."

Chloe glared at Frank. "We are nothing alike."

"We both need money. In fact, you need it so much, you owe me a shitload, right?"

My eyes widened. "This is the guy you owe money to?" I asked Chloe.

"Yeah. And if she's smart, she'd give it to me right now." Frank extended his hand towards Chloe, waiting for his money. Chloe noticed something, however.

"Where did you get that bracelet...?" Chloe asked darkly.

"Hmm? From a friend, now give me-"

"You fucking liar, that's Rachel's bracelet, why the fuck are you wearing her bracelet!?" Chloe asked angrily.

"That's none of your damn business."

"Yes it is! You stole that shit, give it to me right now, asshole!" Chloe tried to take the bracelet, but was stopped with Frank pulled out his switchknife.

"You better stay back, right now. You want me to cut you, bitch?" Frank threatened.

"Uh... Jace, catch!" Chloe tossed me the gun. I caught and, on instinct, pointed it at Frank.

"You're kidding... Put that down, boy." Frank said.

I was shaking. I have never held a gun before, so I was unsure of what to do. When Frank began heading towards me, though, I panicked. I fired the gun, the bullet hitting Frank in the shoulder. He yelled in pain. "You little fucking shit!" Before he could do anything, though, he was stopped when a gun was pointed at his head.

"Stand down, now. If you do anything, I will pull this trigger, right here, right now." A voice said behind Frank. It sounded like a male, but I didn't recognize it. Judging by the shocked look on Chloe's face, though, she recognized the voice.

"Tch... Fine. Next time I see her, though, she better have my damn money." Frank said.

"She will. Now leave."

"..." The guy pulled the gun away. Frank glared at me. "I will remember you, kid. I will remember that you shot me. And you'll wish I had a fucking terrible memory, because I never forget..." Frank walked away, holding his injured shoulder. I saw the man who just saved us. He had dark brown hair, hazel eyes, light skin, and a camouflage soldier uniform.

"Heh, good thing I came at the right time, right, Chloe?" The man asked. Chloe looked away.

"Go away, Xavier..." Chloe said.

"Xavier?" I asked.

The man looked at me. "Right, I should introduce myself. Xavier Madsen, at your service."

"Wait, Madsen?"

"He's step-douche's adopted son. And by extension, that makes him my step-brother." Chloe explained.

"C'mon, Chloe, you make it sound like you're ashamed of me being his son. Yeah, he's an asshole, I can admit that. But he's trying to take care of you, like I am."

"Taking care of me while you're in the military. Fucking genius."

"The only reason I joined the damn military was because of you getting into that mess with Frank! I was offered some money I would get if I joined. I never wanted to join. I just wanted to keep you safe." Xavier explained.

"I can take care of myself! I have it under control!"

"Judging by what just happened, you don't. And you!" Xavier pointed at me. "Shooting Frank was a stupid move! You know he's going to have your head for this, right!? You just put yourself in danger!"

"I'm sorry, I panicked..." I said.

"Hey, leave Jace alone!" Chloe said.

"He made an idiotic move! I was just reminding him of that!"

"He was trying to protect me!" Chloe retorted.

"..." Xavier sighed. "Chloe... I just want you to be okay. If anything bad happens to you or your friend because of Frank, I... I wouldn't know what to do..."

Chloe's expression softened. "Listen, Xavier, I know you want to keep me safe. I just... *sigh* I don't know, I let my dumb pride get the better of me."

"Promise me you won't let that happen again, okay?"

"...Alright, Xavier. I promise."

Xavier smiled a little. "Good. And... you. Give Chloe that gun. She's gonna need something to protect herself with, after that confrontation."

I nod, giving the gun back to Chloe.

"By the way, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the military?" Chloe asked.

"I was given the week off, so expect to see me more often this week." Xavier revealed. "Anyway, I gotta go back home. I wanna surprise mom and dad. See you later." Xavier walked away.

"Quite the brother, huh?" I said.

"You have no idea." Chloe looked at me. "Come on. Let's head out. My secret hideout didn't feel so secret today."

* * *

Chloe and I were walking on the trains tracks. We held each other's hands to keep ourselves balanced. "I still can't believe you shot Frank." Chloe said.

"Like I said, I panicked. I was trying to protect you."

"Yeah, but still. Holy shit. Didn't think you had the balls to do that." Chloe said.

"I didn't think so either." I said. I soon decided to change the subject. "So, what's your relationship with Xavier?"

"Eh, I trust him. I know he's just trying to protect me, but he's a bit too protective." Chloe said.

"Well, if I had such a trouble-making sibling, I would be quite protective too." I said.

"Hah, you've got a point." Chloe said. We stopped walking and rested on the train tracks.

"So, what's the story between you and Frank? Does he have a last name?" The moment I asked that, I knew it was a stupid question. Of course he has a last name, dumbass!

"Frank Bowers. Rachel and I were desperately needing some money to leave this dump. So, I asked Frank for some money. Big mistake. Ever since then, he's been pressuring me to give him his damn money."

"Chloe... I had no idea... I'm sorry..." I apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Xavier's in the military, he's got it under control. I just want to chill. Just me... you... and Rachel. I hope we find her, Jace... You two would get along so well. She wanted a photographer for her modeling. You would be perfect."

"I dunno... I don't think I'm good enough..." I stood up.

"Yes, you are. You just need to show the world your talent." Chloe said.

"Right..." I said. I saw the beautiful sunset. I brought out my camera. Just as I was about to take the picture, my head throbbed and I had another vision about the tornado. _Ngh... Not again... Not again!_ "Ngh..." I groaned. I heard Chloe calling out my name.

"Jace! Jace! Help!"

I managed to ignore my throbbing head and looked at Chloe. What I saw scared me.

"Jace! I'm stuck!" Chloe yelled, trying to pull her foot out of the tracks.

"Shit! Don't worry, Chloe, the train won't-" I heard the train chime. "Fuck, you gotta be kidding me!" I ran towards Chloe.

"Jace, y-you've gotta go change the tracks! Have the train move through the other tracks!"

I saw that the train was starting to get closer and closer. "There's no time! You've gotta pull your foot out of your boot, then we'll pull out your boot! It's the quickest way!"

"Alright, fine!" Chloe said. She strained, but she pulled her foot out of her boot. She crawled away from the tracks. I grabbed her boot and managed to pull it out. I jumped away from the tracks, the train was very close to hitting me.

I sighed in relief. "That was close..." I gave Chloe her boot back as she put it back on.

"Yeah.. You're gonna have to help me walk, though. Having my foot stuck kinda hurt my ankle." Chloe stood up, limping a little.

"Of course." I stood up and held on to her, helping her walk.

"Shit... You saved my life twice. Now we're bonded for life."

"My powers might not last, Chloe..." I felt my face redden when Chloe rested her head on my shoulder.

"But we will. Forever..."

 


	6. Out of Time – Part 3

Chloe drove me back to Blackwell. "Great. We're here." I said. "See you later, Chloe."

"Wait. Before you go, I want to talk to you. You know, about your visions." Chloe said.

"What about them? I can't really explain them other than that damn tornado is coming for Arcadia Bay." I said.

"Hmm... Have you ever heard of Chaos Theory?" Chloe asked.

"Um... That means "crazy shit happens," right?"

"No. It means "crazy shit happens, because it can, and will."" Chloe corrected. "Jace, if anything happens to you, mom, or... or Rachel, I wouldn't know what to do..."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to keep myself and Joyce safe. And when we find Rachel, I'll make sure she's safe, too." I said.

Chloe looked at me and gave me a smile. "Thanks, Jace." She said. "You should probably get to class, though. You know, before you're late."

"Right, right. See ya later, Chloe." Chloe and I fist-bump.

"See ya, Jace." Chloe said as I stepped out of her truck and closed the door. I waved at Chloe as she drove away, Chloe waving back. I smiled as I walked back into Blackwell.

* * *

I walked through the hallway and, surprise surprise, I saw that bitch Courtney sitting at the sign-up stand for an upcoming Vortex Club party. Wanting to give her a piece of my mind, I walked towards her.

Courtney saw me and groaned. "What do you-"

"What the fuck is your problem?"

Courtney flinched at the sudden anger in my voice. "What do you mean?"

"You wanna know what Victoria told me earlier? That you called her a pussy. Is that true?" I asked.

"Well, duh! And why do you care about what Victoria tells you? I thought you hated her guts." Courtney said.

"Not anymore. Earlier today, she proved to me that she did have a heart. That she did have feelings, and you just fucking crushed them." I said angrily.

"Whatever..." Courtney rolled her eyes. "Having a heart means you're nothing but a goddamn pansy. She clearly deleted the video and the website to help out Kate."

"And can you blame her? Kate was depressed, possibly even considering suicide! Just what the hell would happen if the video and website weren't deleted? Actually, no. Let's put you in Victoria's situation. Imagine that you were the one who recorded that video. Imagine if you were the one who posted the video and created the website. Imagine if you bullied Kate because of that video. What would you think?"

"..." Courtney was silent. "... She would... probably... try to kill herself..."

"Exactly. Do you really think you, or even Victoria, would be able to hold such a burden? That you would drive someone so far into depression that they would try to commit suicide?"

"... N... No..." Courtney rests her head against her hands in shame. "God damn it... I feel like such a bitch..."

"You really should." I said.

"... I'm... I'm gonna apologize to Victoria later. I feel horrible..."

"Alright. See you later, Courtney."

"See you later, Jace." Courtney said as I started walking to class.

"I heard what you said back there."

I turned around and glared. It was David.

"And I've gotta say... You've earned my respect. But only a small amount. You're going to have to try harder to earn the rest of it." David said.

"...I see. Though I wouldn't exactly consider it an accomplishment. I may have earned some of your respect, David... but you sure as hell haven't earned mine. Chloe told me that you hit her yesterday. No way am I going to let that slide."

"...Very well."

I turned back around and walked to class, ending my conversation with that step-fuck. I walked into class and sat in my seat. I noticed something; Victoria wasn't here. Huh? Where's Victoria? I saw Kate walk up to me. "Hi Kate."

"Hey, Jace..." Kate looked bothered by something.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"I saw Victoria earlier. She was talking to Mr. Jefferson. She was in tears, begging for him to help her. Mr. Jefferson said there was nothing he could do, which caused Victoria to run away, crying. I tried talking to her, but she told me to leave her alone." Kate explained.

"Damn... This is fucked."

"Definitely." Kate said as she went back to her seat. I looked out the window and saw Victoria walking outside, crying. To my surprise, I also noticed David hiding and taking pictures of her. _Now he's taking pictures of Victoria? Ugh, creepy fuck..._ After I thought this, Mr. Jefferson walked in.

"Everyone, sit down." Everyone did so. "Now, today we have a lot to cover today and so little time, as usual. Has anyone seen Victoria Chase?" Once he got no answer, he continued. "Very well. Before we begin our lesson, there are a few souls here who have yet to enter a photo in the contest. Like Jace Wolfe, for example. Who I know can't wait to enter, right? I'm sure you read the syllabus like it was a Harry Potter book, so you must know today we're studying chiaroscuro; that beautiful word about the contrast between light and dark, the shadowplay that gives photography such...visual power. It's basic yin and yang. Black and white images are effective precisely because of their contrast. Although we don't technically "see" in monochrome-" Suddenly, a student named Zachary bursted into the room.

"Yo! Some crazy shit is going on at the girl's dorms!" Zachary yelled as he left. Mr. Jefferson was less than pleased.

"Zachary, don't ever barge into my room like that ever again!" Intrigued, everyone stood up, me included, and started leaving the room one by one. "Wait, you don't get to leave, you haven't been dismissed!" We all left anyway. I was the last one to leave. However, before I left, I heard Mr. Jefferson utter out one word.

"Dismissed."

* * *

I was walking to the girl's dormitories, where every other student was at. I felt the raindrops hitting me as I walked. I saw everyone looking up in horror.

"Oh my god!"

"Bitch flipped out!"

"I didn't know she was this fucked up..."

Kate had a horrified look on her face, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh no..." I looked and saw Courtney with an equally horrified face. A bad feeling started to grow inside of me. I walked and looked up... and my heart nearly stopped. Victoria... she... she... she was...

She was standing at the rooftop, ready to jump!

 _No... Noooo! Oh god... This can't be happening..._ I was about to run up and try to talk her out of it, but as soon as I took a single step, Victoria jumped. "No!" I quickly used my rewinding powers to turn back to where Victoria was on the roof. I coughed up some blood. _Damn it... I used my powers too much... It's taking a toll on me..._ I saw Victoria jump again, and I quickly rewound. _Fuck... I can't keep doing this... But she can't die... she can't!_ For the third time, I saw her jump. _Damn it... Damn it all!_ I used my rewind power again and brought her back up onto the roof... but when I did that... everything stopped. _W... What? Did I... stop time?_ I looked around and realized that I did. Keeping my hand held up, I started my trek to the rooftop. _Come... on... Jace... You can... do this..._ I walked into the building and walked up the steps that led to the rooftop. Soon, I was up on the rooftop. I put my hand down and time resumed. It looked like Victoria was about to jump, so I raised my hand to rewind time, but I let out a groan of pain as a severe pain in my head was triggered when I tried to rewind.

Victoria turned around and saw me. "What are you doing here, Jace!?" I try to come near her. "No! Stay back! I will jump, I swear!" I stopped. "I'm jumping, Jace. You won't stop me!"

"Yes, I will!" I yelled. "Victoria, you don't have to do this. Do you have any idea how your death will affect everybody!?"

"Yes, I do. It won't affect anyone at all. They already hated me before, I know they won't miss me." Victoria said, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"They will miss you, Victoria! You have so much to live for! You're an amazing photographer, better than me, everyone here at Blackwell! I'm not letting my friend die like this!"

Victoria's eyes widen. "You... consider me a friend?"

"Yes, I do! At first, I didn't think so. But now... you showed me that you have a heart. That you have feelings, just like everyone else! I won't let you die!" I tried so hard to convince her.

"Well, that's too bad." Victoria started to move closer to the edge.

Fuck... I was getting desperate now. "Victoria... I spoke with Courtney earlier. I told her that she shouldn't have called you a pussy, and she feels terrible. She wanted to apologize to you later. I'm not the only one supporting you. Courtney supports you too!"

"Really? ...I'm... I'm glad you both support me. It makes me feel truly happy for the first time in my life. But... what about everyone else? They'll still treat me like shit..."

"Kate won't. She went through the same thing. She wants to help you, Victoria! The four of us together, we'll fight back against the bullies!"

"Jace, I... I can't. I'm being blamed for something I didn't even do! I'm sorry, but... that isn't enough. Goodbye..." Victoria started to move closer and closer. And right before she could jump...

"IT WAS ME!" I screamed, tears rolling down my face.

Victoria turned around and looked at me. "Wh-What?"

"It was me, okay? I... I snuck into your room, and... and deleted the video and website!"

"That... That was you!?" Victoria yelled, understandably upset.

"Yes, it was me. And if you do come with me, and you want to tell everyone that I snuck into your dorm and deleted the the website and video and get me expelled, I won't care... because I did something horrible. All I wanted to do was help Kate, that's it. It wasn't for me at all, it was for Kate. I couldn't stand seeing Kate so miserable, that's why I deleted the video and website. And there's no way in hell I'm going to let you die for something I did. Victoria, I'm... I'm sorry..." I apologized. I walked up to her and held out my hand. After about a minute of uncertainty... she grabbed my hand and I pulled her away from the edge. _Thank god... Oh, thank god..._ I thought, extremely relieved. I led Victoria down the stairs and onto the school grounds. Immediately, we were surrounded by everyone from Blackwell.

"Oh my god, Victoria, I'm so happy you're okay!" Courtney hugs Victoria.

"Victoria, I'm so sorry for bullying you. I-I never meant to push you so far..." One of Victoria's friends, Taylor, apologized, a guilty look on her face.

"It's okay. I forgive you. Jace saved me. And... There's something I need to tell you all." Victoria revealed.

"What is it, Ms. Chase?" Principal Wells asked. I looked down, ready for Victoria to rat me out.

"...The one who deleted the video and website was... it was me. You were right. I realized how miserable Kate was, so... so I deleted them." Victoria lied. I looked at her with the most confused face.

 _What the fuck...?_ I thought, before I realized; she was covering for me.

"So, if you want to keep bullying me... hit me with your best shot!" Victoria exclaimed.

"After today, we are never bullying you again..." Courtney said. Soon, everyone but me and Victoria had walked back into the school. I looked at her again.

"Victoria... Why? Why didn't you rat me out?" I asked.

"You saved my life, Jace. I owed you one..." Victoria said as I saw a genuine smile on her face for the first time ever. She hugged me."Thank you, Jace... Thank you so much."

I smiled as I hugged back. "No problem, Victoria... You're a good person. You didn't deserve to die..."

Victoria ended the hug and leaned in, giving me a kiss on my cheek, causing me to blush. "You're the real Everyday Hero, Jace... I mean it. Well... See you later, Jace." Victoria walked away, as I stood there with a happy smile on my face.

I saved a life today... This was a day I will never forget.

* * *

I lie down on my bed, getting a much-needed rest. Victoria was sent to her therapist to help her recover from almost killing herself and the bullying she endured. I went into the nurse's office and she told me that my head should be fine at this point, so she removed the bandages from my head. My left shoulder was also feeling a bit better, but the nurse told me to keep the bandages on my shoulder, just to be safe. I sigh. _This has been one batshit crazy day..._ I thought to myself. Right after I thought this, I heard my phone go off. I looked at it and saw this it was a call from Chloe. I answered. "Hey, Chloe."

_"Hey. I heard about what happened. It must've been fucking terrifying..."_

I sigh. "Yeah, it was. And the thing is, I had maxed out my powers or something, because I couldn't use it."

_"Aw, shit... That must've been my fault. I'm sorry..."_

"Don't worry about it, Chloe. But, anyway, is there anything else you wanna talk about?"

_"Well... It's about Rachel. I need to find her, Jace... and I need your help."_

_Of course..._ I answered with, "I'll help you, Chloe. I want to find her as well." An idea appeared onto my head. "Hey, while we're on the subject of Rachel... I... want to include someone into our investigation."

I heard a sigh come from the phone. _"Fine. Who do you want to join us?"_

"Well... it's... Kate Marsh."

_"Oh? Her? Why?"_

"Because I trust her. And I don't want to keep this a secret from her. She needs to know." I said.

_"...Alright. But you're gonna be the one who will explain your powers to her."_

"Alright, deal." I said.

 _"We're gonna sneak into Blackwell tonight, to find any answers about Rachel."_ Chloe said.

Now that, I was unsure of. "U-Um... Are you sure you wanna do that? I don't want to get in trouble..."

_"Yeah, but don't you want to find out where Rachel is, too?"_

"..." I sigh. She had a point. "Fine. We'll sneak into Blackwell tonight."

_"Awesome. Get some good rest. And make sure to set an alarm at 9AM. You don't want to forget, do you?"_

"Right. I'll do that. See you tonight, Chloe."

 _"See ya."_ She hung up. After she did that, I set my alarm to set off at 9AM. I sigh softly.

"Tonight... I'm gonna find some answers about Rachel's disappearance. And make sure Kate joins in, as well. I will have to explain my powers, though... That's probably gonna be awkward..." I let out a yawn. "But until then... I deserve a good, long rest..." I slowly close my eyes, drifting off to a deep, peaceful slumber.


	7. Chaos Theory: Part 1

"So, let me get this straight..."

Those were the words of Kate Marsh, as she and I walked through the empty halls of Blackwell Academy.

"Yesterday, you received these time-rewinding abilities..." She started.

"Yes..."

"And you used them to save your childhood friend, Chloe Price, from Nathan Prescott, who you then proceeded to have a scuffle with..."

"That's right..."

"Then you used them to save Victoria from committing suicide."

"Well, not exactly, but yeah."

"And now you and Chloe are searching for Rachel Amber, and you seek my help?" Kate finished.

"...Yeah, that's basically the gist of it." A small silence occurred before I sighed. "Look, if you want me to prove it, I could–"

"I believe you."

"–guess some events that are gonna happen and– wait, what?" I stopped.

"I believe you." She repeated. "I know you, Jace. You wouldn't say something unless you meant it. That's the kind of person you are."

I fell silent before a smile started to grace my lips. "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you..."

Kate's cheeks seemed to flush. "Likewise... But anyway, we should probably go. You know, so people don't get suspicious."

I nodded. "Right. Let's go."

* * *

Kate and I managed to sneak through the courtyard. Due to the dim lighting around the school, it was rather easy to sneak around.

I wiped some sweat from my brow. "Phew... We're almost there. Now we just need to–"

"What are you two doing out here late at night?" It was Principal Wells, and he sounded rather... tipsy?

_Shit!_ I groaned in my head, looking at the principal. "O-Oh, sorry Principal Wells. We were just taking a walk. You know, to ease our minds."

"I understand, Jace." Wells answered, his voice taking a more somber tone. "Trust me, I know a thing or two about stress." He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and took a swig.

Kate's eyebrows raised. She was probably surprised to see our principal drinking. "You're drinking..."

A look of shame washed over the principal as he set the bottle aside. "My apologies. I know alcohol consumption isn't a very professional thing to do, especially on the job." He let out a sigh. "But I'm afraid I am reaching my breaking point. I just received a call from the DA..."

"James Amber?" I asked.

The principal gave a nod. "Precisely. Ever since his daughter's disappearance, he's been calling me nonstop, threatening to sue me and the academy for the incident..."

"But that's not fair!" I snapped. "He shouldn't hold you responsible!"

"...I wonder about that." Wells murmured.

"Huh?"

"I hear the things people say about me. Saying that I only care about raising money for this school. If I seem that way, I apologize. But you must believe me, I truly do care about my students." The principal explained. He's being honest, I realized. I could see the sincerity in his eyes. "My wife and I have been in debt for years." He explained. "It's why I am so focused on making money. Not just for the school and for a good cause, but to also help me and my wife out of our financial crisis..."

"I... Principal Wells, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." I said to him.

He simply waved it off. "Don't be sorry. I don't deserve it. If I had just kept a closer eye on my students, Ms. Amber never would have disappeared."

"No, that's not true–" Kate started, but Wells cut her off.

"Stop it... Don't try and feed me pretty lies. I know it's the truth." He stood up, grabbing his alcohol while doing so. "Just... stay safe, please? I can't lose another one of my students..." Wells sighed, taking another swig of alcohol as he walked away from us. I frowned, holding my arm.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked me. I was going to say yes, but I decided not to bullshit my way out of this.

"Not really... I just assumed he as a no-good money grubber... but he's actually a really nice person..." I inhaled and let loose a sigh. "I'm a dick..."

"No, you're not." Kate objected. "You just judged a book by its cover. A lot of people make that mistake." She reassured me, tenderly placing her hand on my shoulder. "Come on. Chloe's probably waiting."

I fixed my gaze toward her, giving a nod of affirmation. "Yeah. Let's go." As Kate and I continued our path, a thought entered my mind. _Have I... been judging Nathan like that?_ I pondered. _Sure, he was a psycho and he did try to kill me and Chloe, not to mention he roofied Chloe and probably Kate. But... what if there was more to him than I realized? What if..._ I shook my head. _No... Now I'm just being crazy. It doesn't matter what I don't know about Nathan. He did terrible things... Why the hell am I even thinking about him!? He's expelled, and he's out of my life for good._

"Jace? Is everything okay?" Kate asked, noticing that I had spaced out.

I quickly reassured her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just... have a lot on my mind..."

* * *

Kate and I made it to the other side of the school, but Chloe was nowhere to be found.

"Where the hell is Chloe?" I asked myself. "She should've been here a while ago–"

"BOO-YAH!" Chloe yelled, eliciting a yell from both me and Kate.

"Chloe! What the fuck!?" I snapped between breaths.

"Heh heh, get it? BOO-yah? Y'know, like a scary punk ghost?"

"I don't think that's how puns work..." Kate remarked.

"Are you kidding me, Chloe?" I shouted. "After everything that's happened today, you just fuck around!?"

Chloe was taken aback. "I-I-"

"Seriously, what the hell!? So far, I'm on some fucking drug dealer's shitlist, I had to watch a friend of mine try to kill herself over my own actions, I was nearly murdered by Nathan Prescott, and I have these powers that I never asked for! For fuck's sake, is everything a fucking joke to you!? You're always going on and giving me shit for not being there for you, but is this how you're gonna be there for me!? God, you're so inconsiderate..."

Chloe had a look of guilt on her face, while Kate was in shock, probably because she had never seen me that angry before.

The bluenette sighed. "You're right... I'm sorry... I suck..."

I stayed silent before exhaling through my nose. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you... I've just been so stressed about everything these past two days..."

"It's okay, Jace. Don't worry about it." Chloe reassured.

"So, what now?" The blonde asked. "Jace didn't give a lot of details."

Chloe gage a look of bewilderment. "You didn't tell her!?"

"Well, she wouldn't have joined if I told her." I retaliated.

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Well... we're kinda... sorta... breaking into the school..." And almost immediately, I was greeted with a slap to the face. "Ow!"

"What!? Are you insane!?"

"Hey, don't look at me! It was Chloe's idea, not mine!" I confessed, rubbing my sore cheek.

"Whatever, let's just go." Chloe interjected, briskly walking past us.

"This is a bad idea..." Kate said in an unsettled tone.

"Believe me, you're not the only one who thinks so. Sadly, we don't have a lot of options..." I reasoned.

"B-But..."

"Don't worry, Kate. We'll be fine."

* * *

"We're fucked, we're fucked, we're fucked, we're fucked, we're so fucked..."

"Shit, Jace, calm down..." Chloe urged. The three of us had broken in, thanks to Chloe's lockpicking skills, and we were traveling through the dark hallway.

"I'm nervous, okay? I've never broken into a school before!" I shot back, making sure I was quiet.

"If we get caught, we're gonna be in so much trouble..." Kate muttered.

"Yeah, _if_ we get caught." The bluenette emphasized. "Now hurry up and stop whining. We're almost at there." And right on cue, the three of us entered the office. The only thing in our way was a door. Chloe tried to pry it open, to no avail. "Shit... We need to find the damn keys."

"We got it." I said.

"Perfect. I'll try picking the lock." Chloe said as she began to pick the lock, while I searched the room with Kate. We searched for a good fifteen minutes, but the keys were nowhere to be found. "C'mon... Where are those keys?" I wondered.

"Principal Wells probably has them with him..." Kate theorized.

"Crap..." Chloe groaned, still trying to pick the lock.

"Looks like we're gonna have to find another way into the room." I decided.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, Lupin?" The bluenette mocked.

"I do have one idea..." I started walking away, bringing out my phone and calling Warren. I placed my phone near my ear and heard the soft ringtone vibrate against my ear before it stopped, signaling that Warren answered the phone.

_"Hey man, what's up? I'm playing a sick game of World of Warcraft!"_ Warren exclaimed through the phone.

I chuckled, rolling my eyes in amusement. _Fucking nerd..._ I thought, despite the smile on my face. "So I was wondering something… If, perchance, I needed an explosive to destroy a lock or something... How would I make said explosive?"

"Smooth..." Kate commented.

_"Well, you see– Wait a minute… You're not doing anything devious, are you?"_ Warren asked.

"What? Pffft, no way, man! Just a random fun question, that's all!" I scoffed, trying not to make my lie so obvious.

Warren was silent for a couple moments, probably because he was suspicious. Finally, he sighed. "Fine, but if you get in trouble, don't come crawling to me for help. I'll text you the details. See ya!" The brown-haired boy said as he ended the call. A few seconds later, I received a text. "Sugar, a soda can, duct tape, and sodium chlorate, huh...?"

Kate tapped my shoulder. "Let's split up. I'll get the soda can and duct tape, while you get the sugar and sodium chlorate. Sound good?" She suggested.

I gave an affirmative nod. "Definitely. Let's head out." Kate nodded and we went our separate ways. _Alright, if I recall, the sugar's in the science lab. Well, of course it'd be there, dumbass. It's a freaking science lab!_ I scolded myself as I let myself into the lab. The light in the room was practically nonexistent, but I managed to catch a glimpse of the sugar. _Perfect!_ I swiftly swiped the sugar. _Now I just need some spice and everything nice. ...Wow... Okay, I'm gonna pretend I didn't just make that reference... Anyway, now I should look for the sodium chlorate..._

I searched around the dark room for ten minutes, but there was no sodium chlorate in sight! _You gotta be shitting me! A science lab, but no sodium chlorate? Bullshit!_ I then noticed a chemistry book. _Maybe there's something on here that'll help me out._ I picked up the book and proceeded to flip through each page until I found a page concerning sodium chlorate. "Alright, let's see... _'Sodium chlorate,'_ yadda yadda yadda... Ah! _'Sodium chlorate is usually found in weed killer.'_ Perfect! I recall there being weed killer here. Now where is it...?" I glanced around before my eyes fell upon the weed killer on top of the shelf. "Ah, there it is. Hmm... it's all the way up there, though. How do I get it...?" I leaned against a nearby chair. I looked at said chair and an idea hit me. "I got it!" I brought the chair near the shelf and stood on it. Thankfully, I was able to reach up and grab the weed killer. I pushed the chair back in place and walked out of the room, the sugar and weed killer in hand.

"Jace." It was Kate. She had the soda can and duct tape. "I see you got the supplies."

"And so did you. Now it's time to show Chloe that Kate Marsh and Jace Wolfe are the bomb!"

Kate placed her hand against her mouth, giggling.

"...Ugh, that was so lame..." I smacked my palm against my forehead, annoyed at myself.

"No, it was actually quite charming." The blonde complimented with a smile that could light up a dim room.

I blushed. "R-Really? You think so?"

Kate smiled. "I know so. Now then, let's make this bomb. ...Wow, that's something I never thought I'd say."

I chuckled as Kate and I worked on the bomb. It took a little while, but we managed to create the small bomb. "Neat. Time to head back." She nodded and went back to the office with me, where he found that Chloe has made zero progress.

"Fuckin' door!" She snapped, banging the door in her anger.

"Yeah, keep doing that... That's totally not gonna alert people." I stated sarcastically. "Now take it easy on the door. Let's try this instead..." I taped the bomb underneath the handle.

Chloe's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh hell yes! Time to blow shit up!" She brought out her lighter and lit the candle.

"Get back, now!" Kate warned, leading us both away from the door. Within seconds, the bomb went off, destroying the handle and opening up the door.

"That was so fucking cool!" Chloe exclaimed, and I couldn't help but agree. I even felt a little proud. Unfortunately, that feeling wa short lived as the alarm started going off. "Uh-oh."

_Shit! The fire and police department are on their way!_ I panicked. Thinking quick on my feet, I sprinted into the office.

"Jace? What're you doing?" Chloe asked incredulously, panic flowing from her voice.

"Don't worry, I got a plan!" I raised my hand up, and rewound time to before we used the pipe bomb. I checked my surroundings and saw that I was inside Wells' office. _Holy shit, that worked!_ I went towards the door, hearing Chloe rage at it.

"Gotta get this open so he doesn't cheat with his rewind... Ugh, this is bullshit! Fuck you, door!"

Oh my god, you have no idea how hard it was for me to restrain my laughter. Once I had gotten ahold of myself, I swiftly opened up the door and was greeted with the shocked faces of Kate and Chloe.

"This has been Jace the Magnificent. Thank you for joining." I said dramatically, giving my best magician voice.

"You are magic. How the hell did you get in there?" The punk girl asked.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" I smirked.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You are impossible..." She flicked my nose for good measure. She took a good look around the room. "I can see why Wells locks this room up. Fancy faux art crap..." Her eyes fell onto the bronze bird on the desk. "How can you trust someone with a fucking bronze bird on his desk? I'm glad I was expelled..."

"Yeah, if only he had a Monet or a Picasso, you'd still be here." I quipped, earning a giggle from Kate.

"Bite me..." She grumbled, sitting on the ugly-looking chair. A look of relaxation flitted her face. "It may be ugly as hell, but damn is it cozy..." She rests her feet on the desk.

"Alright, time to become one with Sherlock Holmes..." I smirked, looking over at Kate. "You don't mind if you look with Chloe, do you?"

"Not at all." Kate said, making her way over to the bluenette, who started searching for clues on the computer. And with that, I began investigating on my own. I grabbed one of the files and opened it. Lo and behold, the first report card was about Nathan. What shocked me was that, besides the shooting incident, the guy had a spotless record. _Wha!? No fucking way... That shooting incident definitely wasn't his only crime..._ I went to the next report card and, to my surprise, it was mine. Curious, I decided to read it. _It's most likely nothing special..._

_'Jace, as he prefers to be called, is considered a quiet attentive student with much potential for his photography. His GPA fluctuates and his teachers feel he should be doing better. They back up his quiet intelligence, though some complaints find him too nervous and "nosey." Some faculty members would like Jace to speak up in class and be more assertive–' ...Yeah, I'm done here..._ I finished reading, feeling my self-esteem worsen the more I read it. However, I did notice an update at the bottom as I was about to go to the next one. _'Despite some recent confrontation with Blackwell security, Jace successfully stopped fellow student Victoria Chase from jumping off the dormitory roof today. There is an ongoing police/faculty investigation but Jace's bravery is undisputed.' ...I wasn't that brave, was I?_ I thought to myself, my self-esteem starting to gain resolve.

I went to the next report card and it was of Victoria. Some papers were clipped on it, stating that Victoria's grades were beginning to suffer due to intense bullying. I felt a pang of guilt in my heart. Victoria may have forgiven me, but I could never forgive myself for nearly pushing her to suicide...

The last report card in the file was of Warren. His GPA was 4.0, of course. Due to being one of my good friends, I knew how smart he was. Well, science-wise, anyway. I couldn't for the life of me understand why he hasn't noticed Brooke's crush on him yet...

I put the file away. _Alright, two more files to go..._ I grabbed another file and opened it up. Rachel's report card was the first one I saw. I read through it all, even the update that stated she hadn't been in class for the past month. _I don't understand..._ I pondered. _From what I can tell here, she doesn't seem troubled at all..._ I read through the paper concerning the investigation. To my frustration, nothing new was presented. _Damn it! Another dead end..._

I went to the last report card in the file, and it was Chloe's. To no one's surprise, she had a shitty GPA and was expelled. _Bad Chloe..._ I mentally chided, putting away the file. _Alright, time to nab this last file. ...Hehehe, I've always wanted to say "nab."_ I went over to the last, which was conveniently opened. It included a report card. Kate's report card. I skimmed through it. _This sums up Kate to a T. Shy, sweet... and in the wrong place._ I shuddered, remembering when the poor girl was being bullied.

"Jace, you need to come look at these files..." Kate said, bringing me back to reality. I swiftly made my way over there.

"You won't believe this! Nathan accuses Rachel of bringing drugs on campus? And my step-troll went along with it because he thinks Rachel was a bad influence on me... Fucking bullshit." She cursed under her breath.

"David is teaming up with Nathan? This doesn't look so good..."

"And look at this!" Chloe interjected. "It reads like a rap sheet! Bad grades, teacher complaints, secret probation... I'm glad the fucker got expelled."

As I looked, I noticed something. "A note?" I opened it up. It was some disturbing drawing, but I could make out some words.

"What is this? Some crazy drawing?" Chloe queried.

"It's not a drawing..." Kate realized. "Look... 'Rachel in the dark room, Rachel in the dark room...'"

"What the hell does that even mean?" I wondered.

"Nathan has something to do with Rachel missing... I just know it..." The bluenette stated firmly.

"Huh? The hell? "David M. always asks what's going on in my head... David M. always helps me follow those he follows..." If that isn't cryptic, then I dunno what is..." I was legitimately getting freaked out, and so was Kate. My eyes were darting all over the place, I felt like the room was closing in on me. "Fucking David... He was stalking Kate, then Victoria, and now we know he was all over Rachel too..."

"Stalking me? What do you mean?" Kate asked me with a befuddled expression.

I let out a sigh. _Might as well let her know now._ "Yesterday, when I visited Chloe's house, I found these pictures of you in the garage. They were likely taken by David."

The blonde was in shock and fear. "Why... Why would he do that?"

"I wish I knew..." I sighed curtly.

"What we do know is that we're going into his garage files... Plus, I'm starting to freak out in here." Chloe said with a slight quiver in her voice.

"You're certainly not the only one..." I added.

"Let's bail. We got our info. Though, we shouldn't leave without a little souvenir..."

"No, you're not taking the chair." I objected firmly.

Chloe groaned. "Jace, do your powers include mind-reading?"

"Nope. I just know you well enough to the point where I know what you're thinking." I said matter of factly. "Or perhaps I rewound because you tried to steal the chair? You never know."

"Okay, now you're just fucking with me." Chloe and I laughed.

"Anyway, we definitely need to leave. We've pressed our luck enough–" Kate started, before she was interrupted.

"Hellooo... What have we here?" Kate and I focused our attention back to the feisty bluenette. She had an orange envelope in her hand that consisted of a shitload of money. "Holy shit! We hit the jackpot!"

"Chloe, that's for the handicapped fund. Put that away." Kate demanded.

"No way! This is five thousand dollars. I could pay Frank back tonight!"

"Chloe, I know you have a debt to pay, but this isn't the way." Kate tried to negotiate.

"I'm with Kate. We can't just–"

"Are you sure? This'll get you off of Frank's shitlist..." That shut me up. She had a really good point. If we paid Frank tonight, that might get me off of his shitlist, meaning I'll no longer have a target on my back! Plus, there would be some money left over for us. I was about to side with Chloe, when I remembered our conversation with Wells earlier. If we take this money, not only will the handicapped fund go down in flames, but so will Wells and his wife's chances at a financially safe life.

And with that, my decision was made.

"Chloe, we can't take the money, and we're not going to. It's 2 to 1, Chloe. We outnumber you."

The bluenette sighed and put the money away. "Fine. If you wanna get shanked by a dangerous drug dealer, be my guest. It's your funeral, Justice Jace." She spat venomously, getting up and walking out of the room. I sighed to myself. I know that money would have helped me and Chloe, but I couldn't do that to Wells. No way.

"Hey." I looked over at Kate. "I appreciate you doing that. I know that money would have helped you both out. But I'm glad you did the right thing." She smiled shyly.

"Yeah, I don't regret that decision. I just regret pissing off Chloe again. She's already angry at me for abandoning her to go to Seattle, I don't need her hanging this over my head too..."

"What happened? Between you and Chloe, I mean." Kate asked, before cowering a bit. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's fine. I'll tell you." I let out a sigh as I began to explain. "Four years ago, Chloe lost her dad in a car accident..."

Kate covered her mouth in horror. "Oh no..."

"I wanted to stay with her and help her deal with the hardships, but I couldn't... because I had to go to Seattle, thanks to my sister."

"Your sister?"

"Grace Wolfe. My older sister. She's an amazing artist. So much so, she managed to land a job in Seattle. And a few days later, during the funeral, I had to leave."

"Why? Why didn't you stay?" She asked me.

"It's simple; I had no choice in the matter. Not only was I not old enough to live on my own, but Grace forced me to come with her. Our parents died when we were very young, so all we had was each other. I tried to propose any other options, but she wasn't having any of it. She..." I began to shake in terror. "She would... hurt me... just to get what she wanted..."

Kate was on the verge of tears. "That's horrible... Why haven't you told Chloe?"

"I have, but she just thinks I'm making excuses and trying to shift the blame. Probably because she has a picture perfect image of Grace..." I held my arm. "So, long story short, I left when Chloe needed me the most, and she hasn't forgiven me since..."

All Kate could do was hug me. "I'm so sorry, Jace... I had no idea..."

"Don't be... I deserve her anger." I wiped my eyes, realizing I was nearly crying. "Let's just go... Chloe's probably waiting for us." Kate and I walked out, seeing Chloe waiting for us. However, there was an air about her that was... suspicious. "I dunno what that impish look is for... but it scares me..."

"Care for a midnight swim? The Blackwell pool is ours..."

"Swimming? You wanna take that risk now?" I asked, exasperated.

"C'mon! It's been a cray week! You didn't let me take the money, so if Frank pops a cap in my skull, at least let me have a little carefree fun for a few minutes... Splish splash?"

"I... *sigh* Fine... Splish splash... Kate?"

She was silent for a few moments before she shrugged. "Alright. Splish splash!"

I smiled softly. "Sweet! Besides, we hella deserve it."

Chloe looked at me incredulously. "Did you actually just say "hella"? I think I'm a good bad influence on you."

_That... doesn't make any sense..._

* * *

"We're in the Otters' lair..." I murmured worriedly, walking into the pool area with Kate and Chloe.

"Big fucking whoop. I want that heated water!" Chloe exclaimed.

"We still gotta keep it cool, okay? Jace and I still go to school here." Kate reminded.

"Jace could rule this hellhole once he figures out his rewind power."

"Actually, I don't want to rule anythi– ...Ah, never mind..." I sighed, not even bothering to finish that thought. Soon, the three of us found ourselves in front of the two gender-divided bathrooms.

"So... boys or girls?" Chloe asked me.

This was a tough choice... mostly because I could feel Kate's judgmental gaze burning into the side of my skull. Thankfully, I managed to reach a compromise. "How 'bout this? One of us goes into one of the bathrooms and one pair goes into the other bathroom."

"Alright... Boy's for me!" Chloe laughed, heading into the boys side.

"W-Wait, what!? You were supposed to go into the girl's side!" I objected.

"Should've been more specific then, Wolfy." She teased, blowing me a kiss before entering the boy's bathroom.

"I guess we're going into the girl's side. You better not do anything gross, Jace." Kate warned.

"Wha–!? What kind of guy do you think I am!?"

* * *

So, after walking through the girl's bathroom and getting Kate's undivided attention, we got to the pool area, where we found Chloe splashing her hand around in the water. "Jace, Kate, try to find the light for the pool. I wanna see the sharks!"

"Otters don't like sharks. They bite." I pointed out.

"So do I... Hit that light!" Chloe requested. I shrugged and went into a nearby room. _There has to be a control panel here..._ Just as I thought that, I found the control panel. I walked over and switched it on, causing the lights in the pool to turn on.

"Perfect." I said to myself, walking out with Kate. "There, now can you see the... er..." I was completely flabbergasted when I saw that Chloe was only wearing her undergarments...

Chloe eagerly dived into the pool, proceeding to swim around. "Hey, Jace! Care to swim?"

"Well, my shoulder has been feeling better, though I have to be careful about the cannonballs..." As soon as I said that, Kate, also in her undergarments, bolted past me and proceeded to do a cannonball, splashing me and Chloe in the process.

Kate swiftly swam back to the surface, laughing softly, her hair now let down. I have to admit, she looked really pretty with her hair down. And hey, she doesn't look half bad in her bra and panties either. Then again, Chloe looked just as good...

Wait, what the hell has gotten into me!? I swear, I wasn't like this before...

"Come in, Jace! The water's fine!" Chloe exclaimed, before a mischievous smirk appeared on her face as she slashed water at me, getting water on my shoes and pant legs.

"You better not!" I warned playfully.

"Try and stop me, nerd!"

"Okay, you asked for it!" I stripped down to my underwear and proceeded to jump into the pool, splashing both Kate and Chloe in the process.

"Hey, I didn't splash you!" Kate said, before proceeding to splash water at me. "Hehe, now I did."

"Oh, it's so on!" And thus, the Splash War of 2013 began. The three of us began splashing at each other, laughing while doing so. I made a particularly good splash on Chloe, who did the same to me. A mini-war of splashes took place between me and the bluenette, but the both of us were swarmed by a big splash, courtesy of Kate. At that moment, Chloe and I teamed up on Kate, splashing her relentlessly. Kate squealed softly, trying to splash us back to no avail. However, Chloe backstabbed me by splashing me. "Ahh! Traitor!" I exclaimed as I was now at the aquatic mercy of Kate and Chloe.

By the end of it, we were completely soaked. We decided to lie back, the water keeping us afloat. We were panting softly after the fun we had. A few minutes passed, the three of us relaxing.

"I wish Rachel were here with us..." Chloe said somberly. "She would love coming here at night..." She looked over at me and Kate. "Wish you guys had met her... You would've been great friends."

"Don't worry, we will. With everything that's been going on, I'm starting to believe everything is connected..." I theorized. "And... I want to find out why..."

"Your power is changing everything, Jace. Even you. I can tell. You're not so chickenshit anymore." Chloe... complimented, I guess?

"Thanks, I guess." I swam with Kate and Chloe, resting our shoulders on the ledge.

"You know what I mean. You're becoming this force of nature..."

I scoffed. "Force of nature? I nearly stumbled trying to save Victoria..."

"You didn't stumble when you saved me." Chloe pointed out.

"And you didn't stumble when you helped take down the video and website..." Kate reminded.

"But... what if I did? What if–"

"Don't focus on the past, Jace. Focus on the future. We have to move forward in time." Kate advised. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Chloe pondering to herself.

"Yeah... You're right." I agreed.

"...So... What now?" Chloe asked.

"Let's get to know each other. I'm sure you and Jace know each other well, but I want to learn more about you two." Kate suggested.

"Alright, let's get to know each other veeery well... what are your sexualities?" Chloe asked suddenly.

"Chloe! Th-That's a little strong, isn't it?" I asked cautiously.

"No, it's fine, Jace." Kate reassured. "If you really want to know... I'm bi."

"Bi? But aren't you Christian?" Chloe asked.

"Well... actually..." Kate hesitantly started. "I'm... not actually Christian."

"...What?" I asked flatly.

"I'm not Christian. I just go along with it for my family's sake."

"But what about your abstinence campaign?" I asked.

"While I'm not Christian, I do believe couples need to wait some time before getting into the... physical stuff." Kate explained. "So... yeah. I like both girls and guys. Jace?" She looked at me.

"Straight as a line. Alway have been, always will be."

"Looks like Jace is the token straight member of our group, because I'm bi." Chloe revealed.

"You too?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. I've always been attracted to guys and girls. I never found a gender I was attached to more, so I just started liking both." Chloe explained.

"Well, that was interesting..." I pointed out, looking at the two girls again. I found myself admiring them again... They were just so pretty, I couldn't take my eyes off of them...

Shit... What's gotten into me? My heart's going wild...

"Well, I'm starting to get cold in here..." Chloe splashed me and Kate. "Probably because we've been talking instead of attacking each other!"

"Ah! Hey!" I splashed Chloe back.

Chloe giggled a bit. "Alright, I've had my swimming experience for the year. Let's bounce." The three of us got out of the pool and dried off, putting our clothes back on.

"Yuck... We smell like we've been swimming in Chlorine Bay..." I grumbled.

"We'll fix that once we get out–" Chloe was interrupted when we heard another voice.

"Hey! Who's there!?"

My eyes widened, and only one thought entered my mind.

_Crap... We're so screwed..._


End file.
